


Scattered

by Arithese



Category: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - All Media Types
Genre: Adoption, Brotherly Fluff, Child Abuse, Dysfunctional Family, Gen, Happy Ending, Hospital, PTSD, Past Child Abuse, Prison, Rape/Non-con Elements, Trauma, seperated
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-15
Updated: 2018-03-29
Packaged: 2019-07-20 17:36:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 20
Words: 60,855
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16142150
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Arithese/pseuds/Arithese
Summary: Hamato Yoshi kept many secrets from his son. But even he couldn't keep them forever. Dark secrets unravel; betrayal, distrust, guilt and two more members of the Hamato family who have been traumatised for most of their lives.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So at first, and maybe even throughout this whole story, I'll keep flashing back and forth in time. All for the dramatic effect ^^. But just to make it a bit clear, there are three 'sections'.
> 
> The far past, which is when the guys are around 1 years old.
> 
> The past, when the guys are around 10/11.
> 
> And the present, when the guys are 15/16.
> 
> In this chapter only the first two will appear, teenagers will be present in the next chapter :D So they're either 10/11 or little tots.

It wasn't like nothing ever happened in New York. A lot happened during the day and during the night. Murders, suicides, robberies and weird stuff you wouldn't even manage to come up with unless you'd be completely insane. And yet somehow this murder was different, earning a spot in the newspaper, not the headlines but definitely important according to said newspaper.

It wasn't often a murder made its way into the newspaper, not on this scale at least. But apparently this murder was interesting enough. And that would haunt me for the rest of my life probably.

And maybe I was reading too much into it. Maybe I was misjudging the way people remembered.

They wouldn't care. They wouldn't store those newspapers and articles for so long like I was doing right now. They wouldn't have a whole box of stuff, hidden away from everyone but me. And they certainly would not remember T-

I was stopped when a loud scream resonated from down the hall. Seconds later followed by my .. son storming into the room. He was running so fast that he almost collided with me. I wasn't expecting the scream, nor was I expecting someone to almost run into me like that, but somehow I kinda was. It wasn't a secret that he was.. affected by what happened.

"Dad it's Raph! He's having a nightmare again"

As if on cue another screams tears through the house and he cringes slightly, not like I was not. I was just motivated to hide it. To hide my own distress from my second oldest son. Whom I refused to call my middle child.

I was the father in this household. I should not be showing how distressed or how utterly defeated I was.

"Go get your brother something to drink, I will see your brother" I spoke in a low voice, walking towards Raph's room, where another scream erupted.

TMNT

The first night had been a disaster.

It wasn't that bad when the second youngest arrived at his new home along with his 'parents' and welcomed by a slightly older sister. He was laughing, albeit a bit distant. It wasn't unexpected. They were told what this one went through, before all of this.

So yea, they were expecting him to be a bit withdrawn. And yet he seemed happy, acted like a normal baby would and the parents received a little bit of hope. It wasn't until the night that he realised that he was going to sleep without his older brother that he freaked out. The parents couldn't get him to stop crying.

So the next morning, despite really liking the little boy, they took him back to the foster home.

It was a new system, that the child could spend a couple of days with their new parents to see if it clicked, but it only applied to traumatised children like this one. And it clearly didn't work at all, something the caretakers had expected. So they brought him back, and immediately reunited him with his only remaining brother.

"Leo couldn't calm down either. I've never seen him like that before"

"I guess their bond is stronger than ever, they both went through a great ideal after all." The man said towards the girl. "And what did I tell you about naming them?! That's up to their foster parents."

"C'mon we can't go around without naming them. And their dad did name them before.. well everything. So yea, I will refer to him as Leo, and I will refer to him as Donnie" The girl said, gesturing to the two sleeping babies. Tear streaks were still on both their faces, the only evidence of the trip one of the had just made.

Now they were safely snuggled up against each other, like they somehow knew that they both shared the same memory of that day, like they knew they both had the same traumas that would probably cause some mental problems in the future, albeit unconsciously.

The man muttered something under his breath before shaking his head. "Either way, there has been another family that seemed to be interested in one of them."

"This fast?" She frowned. "I can't understand why they are so interested in these boys.. "

"Me neither, these two aren't in the best mental condition. But maybe because they've been in the news so much." The man shrugs. "It's a shame though, a lot of other children are waiting to be adopted"

"Agreed, I just hope someone is willing to adopt both. The woman said gently, stroking some of the black hair out of Leo's face. In response he whined slightly and snuggled closer to his little brother.

TMNT

"Y'know it's okay to admit you're scared" Donnie pointed out, albeit shyly. He clearly didn't want to upset his older brother. Not after the work we had done to gain his trust.

"I ain't" Raph said quickly in defesne, crossing his arms with a scowl on his face. His eyes darkening at the comment.

"What did we talk about otouto?" I almost whisper, nudging his shoulder gently. In response Raph glares at me.

"Stop that" Raph growls, and without directly referring to it I know he's talking about me talking Japanese. Something I can perfectly understand, but still.. he said he wanted to learn. But it was something that got kinda stuck over the last few months. And it was clear that his anger wasn't fully towards me.

Okay sure, he wasn't too happy about me calling him 'otouto' but I know he was mostly just stressed out of his mind.

"C'mon Raph, we're in the same grade, you'll be okay" I try again, putting a comforting hand on my little brother's shoulder. His face softens in return and he looks at me, gnawing at his bottom lip. The change is so sudden that it would've worried about it if I hadn't known him. Well a bit too soon for me to say something like that, but I did know him to a certain extent.

But it didn't matter, because I knew that this was how he really felt, scared and stressed out.

"Ya promise?" He eventually whispers, his shoulders slumping in defeat and I laugh softly.

"Raph" I say sternly but gently, standing in front of him and tipping his chin up. "I will be there the whole time, and Don will join us during the lunch break." I tell him and Don nods, putting a hand on Raph's shoulder as well.

"I ain't scared" Raph points out again and I laugh, ruffling his hair with a bright smile on my face.

"'course you aren't" I laugh, picking up my own backpack in return. I open the door but before leaving I turn towards Raph again. "The teachers know, albeit vaguely, they'll understand if you need to 'go to the bathroom' or something like that" I tell him, doing the air quotes thing with my fingers. Raph nods silently, knowing what I was talking about.

And it wasn't a secret that he wasn't comfortable around a lot of people, and the teachers would understand if he needed to be alone. Or why I'd need to go with him.

TMNT

My neck was definitely starting to hurt, not to mention the pins and needles that were attacking my legs right now. But I still did not move a muscle. I knew, despite how tired I was, how rare this moment was. Something I had learned during my 10 years of parenthood was that every moment was precious, even the late nights up, or the screaming and fights between siblings.

That didn't matter, every moment was amazing.

But even I, no matter how much I loved my children, couldn't deny that they got.. less exciting. Don't get me wrong, it was amazing to hear your son call you a dad, or hearing that they loved you. And Donatello coming home with good grades was sort of normal in our household. Just like the fact that they were not embarrassed to show their love towards me.

It was amazing to say, but it'd become a normality.

I honestly can't count the times either Donatello or Leonardo had fallen asleep while I was holding them, after a nightmare, when they were sick or some other reason, and sometimes we didn't even need a reason. It became a normality, and I would have no problem to put them to bed once they were fast asleep, or even close to falling asleep.

But this time was different. This wasn't a normality.

This was the first time it had happened after all.

So even when my body was starting to protest I never moved, softly stroking the hair of my second oldest son. Raphael's eyes were partly open, too tired to fully open them. And yet too stubborn, or too frightful, to close them. One hand was grasping the top of my pyjama while sucking on the thumb of his other hand.

"Dad?" A small voice suddenly called out, and somehow I felt bad for hoping it was Raphael's voice. But most of all feeling bad for being disappointed for it being Leonardo's voice.

"What is wrong my son?" I whispered, loud enough for my oldest to hear it but low enough to not to disturb the peaceful slumber Raphael was in right now. After all, it took me a while before I had even calmed him down. Or for him to accept the closeness.

"I thought… uh… do you want something? I can get you something if you want.. or Raph" Leo said hesitantly, rubbing the back of his neck hesitantly.

"That will not be necessary. But thank you for offering." I tell him gently, eyeing at my oldest son. Still, he doesn't move. "There is something else you would like to stay" I state as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"We.. we couldn't sleep."

Immediately my eyes soften and I stare at my oldest son. Of course they'd be affected.. of course they'd be scared.

"My son" I whispered, stretching out my free hand as an invitation. In response Raphael only tightened his grip on my clothes, refusing to let go or for me to let him go. I shushed him gently, stroking his black hair once again. It seemed to comfort him slightly and he relaxed him grip, albeit really faint.

Leonardo eventually reached the both of us and he obviously started to grow rather nervous, eying at Raphael with unease. Not because he didn't like his younger brother.

"I know this is hard on the both of you, and that this is something getting used to" I started, speaking Japanese so Raphael would not be able to hear it. Leo smiled sadly, more to assure me and I returned the gesture.

It was no secret that both Donatello and Leonardo struggled with Raphael coming into our lives so unexpectedly. They were not reluctant to share my attention, or anything like that. And it wasn't like we were short on space either. In fact we still had one spare room, even after Raphael had claimed the second spare room.

No that wasn't the problem, the problem was Raphael's traumatised mind.

The screaming and the walking on eggshells around the house. They were constantly worrying about scaring their brother, and in return they were terrified every time Raphael had another nightmare, and his screams. It was hard for all of us, no doubt that Raphael was the worst off, but I could not ignore the obvious distress the others were in.

Including me.

"I know" Leo whispered in return, also speaking Japanese. "I-I'm just.. scared."

"I understand my son. Why don't you get your brother and go to my room? I will be there shortly" I opted. Despite not having my wife at my side when I bought this house, I still kept the twin bed that was in our previous apartment. And maybe it was to forget my sleeping arrangement before coming to this apartment.

Donatello and Leonardo slept in my bed countless of times, during nightmares or thunderstorms. They grew out of it once they got a little older, but right now it seemed like we all need it.

Leo nodded, brightening slightly at the proposal and turned around again, running upstairs to get his younger brother.

"My son" I softly called out when Leonardo had disappeared. Raphael whimpered slightly and refused to meet my eyes, still he was obviously listening. I sighed, knowing that I was lucky that he was at least willing to listen to me. Willingly, without the usual fear.

"I am going to take you to my room my son, is that okay?"

Raphael seems to think about it for a second before resting his cheek against my chest again. Silently giving me his approval. I smile gently and slowly start to get up. Immediately Raphael tenses up immensely and I frown slightly. Still it was to be expected. Right now I was fairly happy that my room was on the same floor as the living room.

Not like Raphael was heavy to carry, he was too light actually, but just because walking the stairs with a 10 year old wasn't the easiest thing to do. When I entered my room Leonardo and Donatello were already sitting on my bed and I walked over as well.

The room wasn't extraordinary. It was a square room which was roughly divided into four equal squares. One of the 'squares' was surrounded by walls and was used as a bathroom. The square directly next to the bathroom was entirely filled with the twin bed. Both sides were met by the walls.

Behind the room was a big window, now shut with curtains for privacy. The rest of the room was filled with a bookshelf and two comfortable chairs to sit on. And of course a closet for clothes, and a box with stuff that I shielded from my sons. Though apparently not good enough, since Donatello had found it not too long ago.

I gently carried Raphael over to the bed and laid him down, and I got onto the bed as well, laying in between Raphael and Donatello. While Leonardo was laying besides the latter. It was a little sad to see how divided they still were. Leonardo and Donatello obviously clinging to each other while Raphael was the one left out.

But it certainly wasn't like that. Well it was, but it wasn't like they didn't like the newest addition.

It was complicated.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, what do you think? Like it, hate it, love it? Tell me what you think, or what you think might've happened ^^
> 
> EDIT: Many people asked me about Mikey. But I can assure you, he will be in the story! In fact, he'll be the main character along with Raph. So no worries. :) (And thanks for all the reviews!)


	2. Chapter 2

"Can ya believe it? It's only October and they're already starting this shit?"

"It isn't shit Raph" Donnie retorts, eying at his older brother. "But you're right, it's early this year"

"Besides this will be a special Christmas this year" I butt in, nudging Raph's shoulder and earning a growl from the latter. I grin at him, putting my hands up in some kind of defence.

"No" Raph almost yells. "No freaking way we're gonna celebrate it like it's some kind of achievement."

"Ah don't be such a killjoy." Don teases, throwing a pillow towards his older brother. I let out a loud laugh, watching as Raph was proceeding to throw a pillow right back at Donnie, which hit him straight in the face.

A smile is plastered on my face as I watch Raph lunge at Donnie, both of them tumbling down on the ground before Don ends up pinned down by Raph, whose face is now wearing that smug grin we all came to love. A grin we unfortunately didn't get to see from the beginning, and a grin that'd be forever haunted by his past.

And yet we came so far these last 5 years, 5 years already. It seems like such a short time, because we've lost so much already.

"No celebrating" Raph repeats himself, but even he can't stop himself from grinning. It's no secret he hates these kinds of things, anything that reminds him of his lost years, or his previous family. And apart from that, he really doesn't like doing stuff like that. He loves Christmas, don't get me wrong, but he hates the idea of us celebrating it as some kind of anniversary.

But that might also be a consequence of his previous family, though I don't know how exactly.

Still Don agrees with me on that part.

"Fair enough, no celebrating" I shrug. "But it's something to think about Raph"

At that comment my little bro frowns, casting his head downwards. "Like I don't know that Leo" He mutters, which causes my smile to falter immediately.

"Raph.." I breathe out, walking up to him. "I didn't mean it like th-"

Before I can finish my sentence a pillow slams into the left side of my face, sending me stumbling backwards. I blink a few times, staring at the grinning face of my younger brother.

"Oh you're going down"

Some might call it childish, pillow fights with your 15 year old siblings, but we simply didn't care. After being separated from our brother for so long we had every right to be childish. We were close because of everything, and it was sort of our thing. When Raph first came to live with us he simply had no childhood to begin with.

No idea what a sleepover was, no idea what a pillow fight was, or even simple games Don and I used to play as kids. Took us some time explaining all the rules, or what the actual purpose of running after each other and 'tagging' them was. But he eventually warmed up to us, and we stuck to it ever since. Minus the tag games of course.

So without a care in the world I continued to throw pillows at him.

TMNT

"How could ya?!" Raphael screamed, his anger only directed to one single person. Or maybe more, but for now he could only show it to one, one who deserved every piece of anger.

"Raphael, please calm down" Dad tried but Raph was beyond pissed right now.

"NO! Don't 'Raphael' me!" Raph screamed, doing a step towards our father. "How could ya?! I thought we promised no more secrets!"

Dad's shoulders dropped slightly, if that was even possible with the defeated stance he had already. "My son, I only found out this morning. I have b-"

"I don't care dad!" Raph interrupted him harshly, and for once I didn't feel the urge to break these two apart like I'd do many times. "I don't care about that! I understand that but you promised, no lies. And yet here we are, five fucking years later. How could you keep this from us?!"

Dad didn't verbally reply. Tears were stinging in his eyes and it was clear he felt immensely guilty. And yet deep down I had to remind myself that the only guilt was us finding this out. Because that's what I wanted, needed, right now. The father who kept important information like this from us. Who promised, after we found Raph, that there would be no secrets anymore.

And yet he did. He lied to us so coldly.

I needed to see the father who lied to us for now, not the man who tried to protect us, or tried to spare us all the grief. Because that's-

No, he kept him from us. He lied, he promised!

And yet I was still rational enough that this wouldn't solve anything. It didn't work 5 years ago, and it wouldn't work this time. I took a few steps towards my little brother.

"Raph.. maybe you shou-" I start hesitantly, putting a hand on Raph's shoulder. But Raph's reaction is immediate. He slaps my hand away with a growl and turns to me.

"Don't say yer on his side now Leo! Don't ya dare say it"

I sigh, holding up my hands in some sign of defeat or surrender. "I'm not Raph. I'm just saying that you should maybe calm down okay? This isn't going to solve anything." I tell him calmly, and surprisingly it seems to calm him down. In fact, his whole face washes of his current colour, and call me delusional but I can swear he's even shaking.

"It's still him, isn't it?" He whispers in a defeated town, sitting down on the couch behind him.

"You're not him little bro" I retort. "He may've been your dad, but not anymore"

Raph snorts in disgust. "He was never my dad to begin with." I sigh, putting a hand on his shoulder. From the corner of my eye I could see Dad approaching us but I let him. Didn't mean I wasn't still angry at him. Because I still was, he lied to us. Sure it were lies of omission, but those could still be considered as lies. And I didn't like it.

Especially considering the last time he did so.

"My son" He softly breathes out, and Raph turns his head away with clenched teeth. Something that never left him over these last 5 years. Something he kept doing in a defence. Avert his gaze and pretend like he was fine. Which he clearly wasn't. Sure the trembling had stopped after 2 or 3 years, but his stance was rigid.

"I am not going to hurt you. And I am terribly sorry for lying to you about such a matter"

Slowly Raph dares to look up, tears shining in his eyes. Was he that afraid of the thought of his previous dad? Did we adopt such a damaged boy into our household? At least that's the word I first thought of, adopted. Because I didn't see him as more than a brother to me. Not because I didn't like him, just because I was young and I didn't know him.

"Then why?" Raph whispers, so utterly defeated. Maybe because he knows what it feels like. Even though we all know nothing.

"If you would know, you would understand" Dad answers, only causing me to grow confused even more.

"Then tell us. You promised we were done with the lies. Y'have already broken that once" Raph retorts, his anger returning slowly again. "Don't lie ta us again"

Sadness flashes across Dad's face and for a second I think he's going to tell us.

"I … cannot" He says softly before he stands up and leaves us. Alone. Enabling us to think about the fact that this was truly happening. That dad was really lying to us all these years, these past 10 years, these past 5 years.

And the only thing I'm truly thinking about is that whatever is stopping dad from telling us… must be bad. So bad that he truly didn't want, or couldn't, tell us.

TMNT

That morning

I wasn't really worried when Leo's phone rang only one minute ago, I mean why would I be? It was just a normal phone conversation, and it seemed like Leo knew the person on the other side of the line. So I just focused on my homework again, ignoring the conversation Leo was having.

And if I hadn't, I would've noticed the slight tone of fear in Leo's voice. And the utter confusion that was laced in his voice. I only noticed when he raised his voice slightly, something Leo doesn't do without a very good reason. And that's when I noticed his tense stance.

"Are you okay?"

Leo's face was twisted with worry and confusion, the phone still pressed against his ear, humming softly as some kind of confirmation.

"Leo" I press again. "Who was that?" I ask the moment Leo takes the phone off his ear.

"Dad" Leo says, distress in his voice before he walks over to the kitchen, picking up the jacket he had thrown over the counter.

"Where are you going?" I ask, reaching out for his wrist. Leo turns around, worry still present on his face.

"He was crying and he wouldn't tell me why. Just asked me to come meet him" Leo tells me, taking my hand off his wrist.

"Then I'm coming with you" I state firmly, and Leo sighs in response, silently (and albeit reluctantly) agreeing. Both Leo and me, and Raph for that matter, knew that we were both very similar and very different from each other. Our hair for example, and another thing we definitely had in common was the stubbornness. Once we set our minds to something, nobody could talk us out of it, most of the times that is.

And no way in hell I'm going to let Leo go alone. I had a bad feeling about this.

TMNT

"Is he on his way?" Jack asks me, handing me another cup of tea. I nod vaguely, grasping the warm cup with both my hands. The warmth feels good around my hands and I close my eyes for a few seconds. My eyes sting, but it's a good sting. My cheeks were feeling weird, filled with tear streaks and my eyes were puffy from all the crying.

"I'm truly sorry I didn't tell you before"

"You have only known for two days as well" I mumble back, running a hand through my hair. We would not have very long. Leonardo was on his way right now, and Donatello was probably following right behind. The two were always inseparable. They both shared something tragic after all. Not as bad as Raph… and apparently neither as bad as .. Michelangelo.

"True, but I could've told you sooner. Maybe could've warmed him up to you."

"What am I going to do now Jack?" I mumble, staring up to my best friend for so many years.

"The same you did with Raphael" He eventually replies, biting his lips softly. "But I'm afraid…" He starts, turning away from me. Even going as far as creating some distance between us.

"The boys won't accept another lie. You know that. They've told me numerous times about you keeping Raph a secret"

"I know" I mumble, feeling my stomach turn. I knew what he was going to suggest.

"You will have to tell them about your time in prison"


	3. Chapter 3

I was the first one to figure it out. Dad knew I was the 'smart' one, even if Leo was the oldest he saw that I was the smartest, he just didn't fully realise how smart. Fortunately, he had no idea I would figure out his secret hiding spot so soon. Unfortunately, he caught me within seconds that I found the box.

Though he was too late, too late from preventing me from seeing the picture.

There were three of us, not two like there was supposed to be, but three. There was a strange woman holding me against her hip, and another man holding Leo and another baby on either leg.

'September 1998' Had been written under the photo.

I was 10 when I saw the picture, 2007, so we had to be one year old or something when the photo was taken. Dad had been horrified when he saw me with those pictures. But the damage had already been done.

He had snatched the pictures out of my hand before I knew what was happening. I remember having the urge to cry, I remember feeling sad because I made daddy angry, or so I thought. Maybe deep down he didn't like it, but he knew he couldn't've held it a secret too long anyways.

It ended with both me, dad and Leo on the couch for a long and serious talk, and dad spilling that we actually had another brother, not an adopted one, but a real biological brother, eventually spilling that we were a triplet. Two months after that talk Raph came into our lives.

At the time we deemed it enough, one extra brother. I was too ignorant to push my dad. Unable to see the lie he was telling us all. And maybe we were all just caught up with the whole situation revolving around Raph, the nightmares, the cautiousness, and the loss of attention. And maybe it wasn't fair to call it a lie, rather a lie of omission.

We believed him, and we had no reason to think that there might me more to it. And while we were busy making Raph comfortable after everything he has been through, something I did not fully knew at the time, neither of us was thinking about another member of our family. Dad would never lie to us, not after revealing we had another brother.

Boy, were we about to be proven wrong.

TMNT

"This was our previous home" Dad announced, stopping quite suddenly. I frowned, taking another step towards the house in front of us. It was quite fancy, albeit less than our current home. It seemed like something you'd pay a lot for, but still it wasn't a house I'd like to live in. It was in the middle of Manhattan, there were constantly cars running past us.

People were shouting and screaming, brushing past us to hurry home. Definitely not a place for 4 little kids.

"Was this the place where…?" I ask hesitantly, inching a bit closer to my little brothers. Still the urge to protect, even while being afraid myself. I looked over to the little yard in front of the house, decorated with beautiful flowers, red roses, bright yellow ones and so on. And yet not a house I could see dad living in.

"It was" Dad eventually answers, hanging his head pitifully. Of course, losing your wife that way.. it can't be easy for you.

"I'm sorry" I mumbled, grasping his hand and squeezing it softly. He slowly looked up to me, pride shining in his eyes and he smiled gently at me.

"I am too, for you have never had the chance to meet your mother. No one should grow up without his mother…" He told us, eyeing at Raph. "..Or his father" Raph in response scowls, turning his head away. Donnie smiles at us sadly, all of us knowing Raph by now. Knowing he was hiding his pain that way. Hiding that he hated what happened.

And that it still deeply affected him even to this day.

"It wasn't your fault dad" Donnie cuts in, putting a hand on Raph's shoulder. Still the look of pain across his face was too evident. Because even if it wasn't his fault, and even if he fully realised that himself, he still wasn't there for Raph. He wasn't there for him.

And now history was repeating itself…

TMNT

A couple of days ago, and continuation of the ending of chapter 2.

"Dad?" I call out, slightly hesitant as I walk into one of the rooms the assistant pointed us to. Donnie was walking right behind me, visibly tensed like I was. And in no way were we reassured when we saw our father sitting in the room. He was holding one of those disposable cups made of carton, probably filled with tea.

His whole stance was off, his shoulders sagging and his elbows resting on his knees. Not to mention the bloodshot eyes and the faint lines that were still on his face, presumably from all the crying.

"You are not supposed to be here" Dad mumbles as he sees Donnie, which only causes me to be concerned even more. Dad never talks like that, never. He never puts one of us before another. He would never say that Donnie wasn't supposed to be here, unless something was definitely wrong.

"Dad?" Hesitantly Donnie walks over to our father, kneeling down with a concerned look on his face.

"Leonardo, please go with Jack." It is only when Dad mentions his good friend that I notice his presence. "I did not want you to see this either" He adds reluctantly, putting a hand on Donnie's hand and squeezing it softly as some kind of reassurance.

I turn towards Jack Kurzman. Someone dad met a long time ago and quickly became a good friend, one of his best friends. He even acted as our babysitter, looking after me and Don as children. He was like an uncle to us, family. Still, I had no idea why someone working for the police would be here. Whatever this facility was, and why ever dad wanted us to come here.

I eye at Donnie for a moment and he gives me a short nod, silently telling me it's okay to leave him behind with dad. And only with that confirmation do I follow Jack out of the room.

"Gotta tell you" Jack starts as soon as we walk out of the room. "This isn't how I wanted to see you boys again. I wish this would be a happier reunion." He continues, eyeing at me. While Jack was very close to my dad, and we trusted him without question, he was a busy man. And in the last months we barely saw him.

"I still have no clue what is going on" I mutter to no one in particular but Jack seems to hear me.

"I will explain in a second, but I don't want to overwhelm you." Jack says as he unlocks one of the rooms, before walking into it. There are comfortable chairs and a couch, along with some basic needs that you'd usually find in a normal house. A miniature version of a kitchen, a small room with a lock, so most probably a bathroom, and a television on the wall.

Jack gestures me to sit down and I sit down without saying anything.

"So what's going on?" I eventually ask as Jack sits down in one of the chairs. I curl my legs under me, trying to make myself as comfortable as possible.

"Yoshi has been lying to the three of you" Jack says, straightforward as ever. "I guess I'll need to go back a few years. Do you know why Raph was separated from you and Don?" He continues, seeing the obvious confusion that was on my face. Dad was lying to us?

But going back to the question, I had no idea, dad told us that something happened in the past and he told us a vague story. When we were just born our mother died unexpectedly and the police found that dad was unable to care for the four of us. But something told me, at least from what Jack had told me, that this wasn't the full truth.

So I shook my head, waiting for him to tell me.

TMNT

"Hey sweetie, don't be sad" The woman giggles, picking up the small infant and placing him on her hip. She gently ruffles his black hair, a pang of sadness making itself present. She's grown to love him during the past 5 months he spent here. She has grown to love all four of them. And while she was happy he was finally getting a happy family, she was sad to see him go.

A bit ironic that the youngest one would be the first one to find a loving family, but the second oldest would follow soon after. She was happy for them, they didn't deserve to grow up in here, they deserved a family that'd love them unconditionally. But it also meant ripping them from their brothers. And the four of them were quite close.

"I'm gonna miss you too darling, but you'll love them. Besides you've already met them several times" She said like the child could understand, taking in his appearance once more. The little and few freckles that had popped up on his face, his bright blue eyes and his messy black hair. Yep, she was definitely going to miss having him around.

But it was for the best. At such an age people still wanted to adopt them. Once they reached two.. it'd be harder. And now he was still 1 year old he wouldn't remember his old life. He may not be rich anymore, but he would have a happy life, with a happy family.

Away from his father.

TMNT

"That night, everything burned down in your foster home. Every paper and every worker that knew you" Jack finished.

I nod numbly, already knowing that that happened to our previous foster home when we were younger. I had read about it on the internet. To this day they still don't know what caused the incident but the two workers who were in charge didn't make it out alive. They perished in the fire, their family still not knowing if it was an accident or a murder. Or whoever caused it to catch fire.

"Without those papers and those people there was no way to track them.. and they were kept hidden"

My stomach is turning right now, and somehow I already knew where this was going to. So why did I still ask?

"They?"

I had no idea why, I only knew that I really didn't want the question to be answered. But I already asked, and Jack had every intention to answer my question. Because now I understood what this was all about, and this was what Jack wanted to tell me all along, the 'but' at that one sentence, the subject he deliberately avoided.

"You had another brother. The youngest of the four."

Tears were now freely streaming down my face, and the only thing I could think about was Raph.. little 10 year old Raph screaming and crying almost every night from endless nightmares and flinching at every touch. Nobody... nobody deserved such thing.

"What's his name?" I ask, my voice cracking halfway through the sentence.

"His name was Michelangelo, or Mikey for short." Jack says, and now it's his turn to look down in sorrow. "But he hasn't been called that for a very long time now."

There is a short silence, and for a moment I have no idea what to say or what to do. Get back to dad to comfort him, go home, go see my apparent little brother, ask for more information.. but Jack already beat me to it.

"Where is he?"

"He's in the other room" He says, gesturing to the room behind me. "You can imagine that he isn't in the best mental state... the boss wouldn't say anything about any of the men we caught.. we have no idea how long he's been involved"

"So why call me?"

"Like I said.. he isn't in the best health. In the last 8 days he's been here he never left his room. Only to go to the toilet. He refuses to acknowledge what has been done to him and he refuses to speak to anyone. But so far he's only seen adults, and considering adults were the ones.. well… y'know… Yoshi and I thought it would be good for him to see another teen."

"I will do it" I immediately state, causing Jack to be a bit startled by the quick reaction, but eventually he nods. He motions for me to stand up and to follow him. I follow him towards the door, feeling fear bubbling up in my stomach. Was I really about to..? And so soon after hearing nonetheless.

"Mikey?" Jack cautiously asks as he opens the door and immediately I can feel my stomach clenching painfully. "Michelangelo?"

Almost as if expected there is no answer and Jack gives a short sigh, before stepping aside to make room for me. He gives me a short nod before I walk into the room. It was a plain room, like a simple hotel room. There were no pictures to be seen, or anything remotely personal, and the only thing that was seemingly touched was the bed.

On the bed was Mikey, Michelangelo.

But his appearance shocked me. While Don, Raph and I all had black hair, he didn't. His hair was blond, but at the tops were signs of black hair. He bleached it. I thought grimly, taking in the rest of him. There were light freckles on the bridge of his nose. A purple and yellow bruise was on his neck, eventually hidden as it reached under his t-shirt.

I felt my stomach clench, twisting as I took in his appearance.

"Mikey?" I ask, hesitantly walking up to him. It was faint but I could see his shoulders tensing slightly as I neared him. He was afraid, that much was obvious, but he was covering it up with a straight face.

"What do you want?" He asks me, his voice surprisingly light. He swallows, and I'm surprised how difficult it seems to be for him to do such a simple task, until I remember the yellow bruise that decorates his throat.

"I… " I start, scratching the back of my neck. "I don't know. Are you Mikey?" I eventually ask, only earning a snort from the young boy. No, not young, younger. Just a little bit younger by minutes. And yet he seemed so small, so vulnerable.

"You heard the officer. Don't pretend like I'm stupid" He scoffs, turning his head away from me so I'm forced to look at the back of his head.

"That's…" I mumble, taking a few steps so I'm looking at the side of his head. "That's not what I meant. I wanted to be sure"

"And why are you so interested in me? Another boy to pity, another boy to brag about at school?" Mikey sneered and I cautiously took a step back, my eyes wide with disbelief. Raph never … he never did this. Not even at his worst.

"I'm not like that Mikey, I wouldn't-"

"Then why are you here?! Because all the other visitors I've gotten wanted me to talk. 'you should talk about what happened, tell us about it, confess in front of the court'." He sneered again, still not looking at me. And for the first time I saw a glimpse of the same defeated look Raph had when he just started to open up more.

The little crack in his voice, the shimmering of his eyes. And the turning of his head to wipe the starting tears away. The tough guy act.

"I'm not sure how.. or if you'd actually believe me. I don't even believe it myself yet" I start, taking a chair and putting it a meter from Mikey's form. The latter turns his head slightly, scanning me from the corner of his eye, however the moment our eyes lock he turns back again, glaring at the window in front of him. As if he was denying he ever looked at me.

"I'm Leonardo, but you can call me Leo" Still, he didn't look very fazed. "I know it sounds ridiculous, and I just hope you'll give me a chance to explain, or to prove it someway"

I took a deep breath, still wrapping my head around the idea myself.

"I'm your brother, we're family"


	4. Chapter 4

"Are you sure that is him?" Yoshi's voice sounded so soft, so defeated as he looked at his son through the little window. I sigh, putting a hand on his shoulder, my best friend for 12 years now.

"Ninety-nine percent sure, I took a DNA test the moment he was admitted." I state, squeezing the shoulder of my best friend to comfort him. "He looks exactly like you" I add hesitantly, my voice barely above a whisper.

"Are there any relatives?"

I sigh, looking at the fragile kid again while shaking my head.

"His father had no brothers or sisters, and his parents died a long time ago. His mother had one sister but we haven't been able to contact her" Yoshi growls slightly at the comment, shrugging of the hand that was currently on his shoulder.

"Those monsters were never his parents to begin with." He spats out, hands curling into tight fists.

I smile sadly at him, it couldn't be easy for him. Finding your long lost son after 10 years again. It took something out of him, tearing something from the inside. He never truly accepted the loss of his two sons, never truly accepted the death of his wife.

Beautiful and caring Tang Shen.

"Legally speaking they were, but I doubt he ever considered them his parents"

"What did they name him?" Yoshi asks me, completely ignoring my previous comment.

"They kept his name, I think for optimal cruelty. They may have all the papers, but they were never legally adopted. That's why you could never find them." I tell him. I take a last glance at Yoshi before silently opening the door to the hospital room to avoid waking the boy. He fully needed his rest right now, and the last thing he needed was to be rudely awakened.

Yoshi followed me into the room, most people would have freaked out by the lack of noise in his movement, but I had gotten used to it in the last 12 years. It was a conscious choice to ignore him, only focusing on the boy that was now finally peacefully sleeping on the hospital bed. His appearance still shocked me.

The nose that was an exact replica of Yoshi's and Leo's nose. Or the bright green eyes that were the exact shape as Tang Shen's. And the texture of his hair that was exactly like Leo's. Quadruplets, that's what Tang Shen told me. It was only when they were born that they discovered two of them were identical.

Leo and Raph were both identical, and it was clearly showing right now.

"Raphael" Yoshi whispered pitifully, hesitantly reaching out for his son but eventually retracting his hand. Too afraid to touch the 10 year old. He reached for his pocket, taking out a copy of the photo taken in the foster home. The last photo taken with Raphael, and the only one that was brought to Yoshi before the foster home was burned down.

"My son"

TMNT

5 years later

"I'm Leonardo, but you can call me Leo" Still, he didn't look very fazed. "I know it sounds ridiculous, and I just hope you'll give me a chance to explain, or to prove it someway"

I took a deep breath, still wrapping my head around the idea myself.

"I'm your brother, we're family"

There was a short silence following my statement, as I anxiously looked at my apparent younger brother for something, a reaction, a comment, anything. And I got one, mere seconds after I ended my sentence. His face was blank, until a grin appeared on his face for a split-second.

"Family?! We're family?!" He asked, his voice raising dangerously with the last part of the sentence.

"I know!" I hastily blurt out. "It sounds crazy, but .. please just-"

"Hear you out?! I don't want to hear it okay? Now get. Out. Of. My. Room" He hissed, curling his lips slightly as he stared at me. My eyes widened at the sight, what did they do to him over there?

"Please… just hear me out.." I begged, eyes uncomfortably wide. "After that I will leave if you still want me to, I promise.. but just.. hear me out okay?" I ran a hand over my aching chest, my head swirling slightly at the memories that were flooding in my mind. All the screams and cries that Raph had made back then, and it was all happening again.

The unreal scenario of having another brother, one that had been severely traumatised before. A brother that, just like them, didn't know about his real family. A boy that came into the family, refusing the statement, or claim that he belonged to another family instead. However, there were differences.

It now concerned 4 brothers, and the damage done was bigger, more traumatising, showing as Mikey continued to glare at me, like he was really trying to kill me with his eyes. After a few seconds he scowled, turning towards the window in front of him again. Light reached the bruise on his neck again and I winced slightly upon seeing the damage.

Damage that was also done to Raph's body.

I bowed my head with a small smile on my face at the silent agreement, feeling disgusted at the same time. I shouldn't be smiling right now. I took a deep breath, taking my probably only chance and retold what Jack had told me just minutes ago.

TMNT

"When you guys were 6 months old your mother died, that part was true to your father's story. Her death was unexpected, but not without a reason. Your mom was murdered when you were barely 6 months old, May 1998, and your father was charged with her murder"

I really wasn't blaming Jack for telling me this, or anything or anyone else….but as soon as I heard what Jack said my mind just... froze in a way. My mom, our mom, was... murdered? And dad was charged for it?

My mouth opened a couple of times but no words came out of my mouth.

"I'm sorry Leo" Jack says but I shake my head, pinching the bridge of my nose in frustration, and maybe confusion, probably both. I had no idea what to feel right now.

"Why?" I mumble, looking up to Jack again. "Why are you telling me this? Why you and why now?"

"Yoshi wanted me to.. Something happened a week ago and it has something to do with your past." He continues and against my will I can feel tears prickling in my eyes. "Yoshi was charged with murder and lost custody over you guys, you were put in a foster care where you could be adopted. Raph was adopted before Yoshi could be proven innocent but..."

"But what?" I press as Jack cuts himself off in the middle of the sentence, with no intention of continuing any time soon. He was biting his inner cheek, a sign that basically meant that he really really didn't want to tell the thing he was about to say.

"The murder wasn't an accident." Jack continues, obviously switching the subject but I didn't mention it. "It was done by Yoshi's adopted brother. Hamato Saki, or Oroku Saki as he's now known. And he framed Yoshi for it because of deep hatred."

"What happened? Why does Saki hate our father?" But Jack shakes his head curtly.

"That's not my story to tell, and it isn't important right now. What is important is the fact that Yoshi did not murder Tang Shen, and he eventually managed to prove his innocence, winning custody back over the two of you. Saki was furious and the night after Yoshi was released….

…. "That night, everything burned down in your foster home. Every paper and every worker that knew you" Jack finished.

TMNT

I never managed to tell the last part. Never had a chance to convince my youngest brother that I was telling the truth. I could never tell him what Jack had told me, about him being our youngest brother, and why we couldn't find him all those years. I couldn't tell him about Raph, or all the years that had followed his adoption.

Maybe I shouldn't've thought much in the first place, because how could I possibly convince someone when I didn't even fully believe it myself? Well, it wasn't like I didn't believe it, but hearing you have another sibling… it makes things confusing as shit.

Mikey didn't yell at me, not like I was expecting him to. A quiet hiss of 'get out' was the only thing I managed to get out of him before I reluctantly left. The last thing I wanted was him to hate me, my little brother. Even if he didn't fully keep his part of the deal, I had come farther than I thought I would.

It would be his decision whether to believe me or not.

So I joined Jack and returned to the room where Donnie and dad were still in. The latter significantly calmer than before.

"Let us return home, I think we should have talk" including Raph I had mentally added. Dad was still obviously shaken from everything, his thoughts somewhere else the whole ride back. I didn't blame him really. The guilt of not being there for Raph the first 10 years of his life had almost eaten his alive, had almost permanently damaged him, just by guilt.

The screaming… it was expected from Raph's point of view. Me and Don? Our anger matched Raph's right now, but unlike Raph we had learned how to channel it, how to control it. And with dad too emotionally broken to be rational right now, Don and me were left with being the elder for now.

This is continuation of chapter 2, where Raph yelled at Yoshi for keeping Mikey a secret…

"This is all so fucked up" Raph mumbled in his hands, rubbing his eyes hard to wipe away the tears. The few tears he allowed to escape from his eyes, or they had just escaped him unwillingly. Both our backs were pressed against my bedframe, both of us sitting on the ground with our knees drawn to our chests.

"We'll get through this little bro, we did before" At this Raph laughs bitterly.

"I want to believe ya Leo. But what I went through…. It doesn't even come close" I feel Raph shiver next to me, and I glance at him with a concerned look.

"Raph… I don't… what you went through may not be as bad as what Mikey went through but… it's still bad y'know" I stumble over my words, not knowing how to formulate it properly, without hurting Raph's feelings, or damage his fragile mind. Raph doesn't reply, and I wasn't blaming him. What could he possibly say?

We all know he doesn't like to talk about the first 10 years of his life. If it would be up to him he would just forget about them, but it didn't work that way.

"It made you stronger in the end, and you having experienced something similar may help you connect with him. You know what to do, and what he will feel comfortable with" I add, nudging his shoulder slightly.

Raph sighs, laying his head on my shoulder. I smile down at him.

"You're being clingy again" I tease, shrugging my shoulder slightly at which Raph scowls.

"You told me to be, 5 years ago" Raph reminds me with a scowl, and I bark out a laugh, wrapping an arm around Raph's form and putting him tightly against my side.

"I did, didn't I?" I laugh. "I regret things" I snicker as Raph snorts at the comment.

"Don't get used to it fearless leader, I ain't no cuddly bear"

"Sure you aren't" I say, my smile faltering.

He wasn't… he had never been before. Even after all we tried he still isn't. We tried so hard to coax him into hugs and simple touches like a normal family would do. But the scars still haunted him. Sure, he didn't expect me to hit him anymore every time he complained too much, or when he messed up.

Took him a while to believe it, and a couple of years for his subconscious to realise. But touches and things like this were still a taboo subject. A rarity because Raph wasn't completely at ease when we would do hugs like this. Exceptions were moments like this, when his guard was lowered, or after bad nightmares.. or just when he needed one.

I sigh again, Raph had been fairly willing to get into this family. He didn't fully believe it yet, or didn't want to accept it or anything, but he didn't deny it. He was reluctant to believe he had a loving family, reluctant to believe that he had an identical twin, and that he was one of a triplet. But he never denied it.

Mikey was another story, but maybe that was the amount of trauma doing its job. And I had a feeling he would never want to hear the rest of the story, or accept our family like Raph had.

TMNT

15 years ago

"You don't understand, I had nothing to do with her murder, I loved her" Yoshi exclaims, showing his bare hands to the person across the table, his wrists trapped with handcuffs to the steel table.

A snort comes from besides him. "That's what they always say Mister Hamato"

"But I am telling the truth. I was not at home when Shen was murdered" Yoshi tried to defend himself, his stomach turning violently from everything that had happened. He eyes at the guard next to him, reading the file while watching him at the same time.

"So I've read." The man across the table explains. "You were walking around the city before you came home, is that correct?" Yoshi nods but the expression of the man stays the same, obviously not buying the things that Yoshi was saying, or the statement he has given to them hours ago.

"I was."

"What were you doing out there, at such an hour nonetheless?"

"I grew up in Japan, I only moved here when I met Shen. Still I have not fully adapted to the densely-crowded city and every once in a while I wander off on my own, seeking what I have left behind in Japan. Open space, peace and quiet"

Yoshi casts his head downwards, his heart aching at the thought of his beloved wife. Someone he will never see again, someone he will never speak to again. Someone he was willing to leave Japan for. They had been so different, they had been to her last breath, and yet they found something in each other, love.

Tang Shen wasn't even fully Japanese. Her mother was one hundred percent American, while her dad was Japanese as well. But she grew up in America from the time she was just born, she was used to the busy life, and apart from looking slightly Japanese, she was American.

"So there is no eyewitness to testify that you were out last night? No evidence to prove you were not at home when your wife was murdered"

Yoshi's head shot up. "I did not kill her officer. I loved her dearly"

"I think we're done here, I am sorry Mister Hamato" Yoshi hangs his head again, feeling utterly defeated right now. But before two agents come in to take him back to his cell he looks up to the man across the table again.

"What is going to happen to my sons?"

TMNT

"My son"

I groaned softly, turning around to lie on my other side.

"G'way" I mumble, covering my face in my blankets. Above me, dad snickered light heartedly, reaching for the blankets to pull them away. I gave a loud whine, grabbing the blankets as well and we ended up wrestling for a few minutes before I gave him. sacrificing the blanket for the greater good, sleep.

"My son, you should get up" I groan again, rolling up in a tight ball to shut dad out. I was tired, I wanted to sleep.

"What?" I mumble, my voice smeared with exhaustion. "It's Sunday, there's no school" I continue, eyeing at the clock that read 8 am.

"I know my son" Dad tells me, sitting on the edge of my bed. I frown, sitting up upon seeing his concerned gaze.

"What's wrong?" I ask, rubbing the sleep out of my eyes.

"Jack just called me, Michelangelo wants to see you again. He wants you to continue the story"


	5. Chapter 5

"I know my son" Dad tells me, sitting on the edge of my bed. I frown, sitting up upon seeing his concerned gaze.

"What's wrong?" I ask, rubbing the sleep out of my eyes.

"Jack just called me, Michelangelo wants to see you again. He wants you to continue the story"

Never have I felt so grateful about having granted a second chance. I thought I had blown it that day by spilling every secret to Mikey so soon. I should've known not to attack him with knowledge that soon. Even Raph had trouble grasping everything, and he was considerably better than Mikey was now.

It was still chilly outside, and I wrapped myself tighter in my jacket, grimacing slightly. I had the privilege of growing up with my real father, so had Donnie. Even though mom was removed from the picture before we could remember a thing, we had dad to ask, ask about our mother. We knew what traits came from whom.

I could see half of myself in Dad, I could see Donnie in my father, and in return Dad talked to us about our mother, telling him where we were familiar.

Raph never had that chance, and neither had Mikey. They probably never even knew that they were adopted. And on top of that, they probably never had a real family, a normal one. They never knew if they looked like their mother, or father. Where they got their eye colour from, their personality and so on.

Then again, the police had no idea where Mikey came from. If he had a normal family before all of this, or that he was in that place from the beginning.

"Glad you could make it so fast Leo" Jack greets me, already waiting for me in front of the building. I nod vaguely, following him inside the building and walking down the familiar halls.

"Any more news on him? Where he came from?" I ask him but jack shakes his head at my question.

"None so far, we're working on it though. They are taking DNA samples and finger prints right now actually, hopefully we can match them to someone"

"And the ones.. he was with before? Surely they didn't adopt an infant and raised him to do something like that"

Both Jack and me stop at the familiar door, Jack quickly unlocking the door from the outside and letting me inside the room. He gestures to the couch in the room and I comply by sitting down, glancing at Mikey's door for a few seconds. But figuring they were probably busy taking DNA samples, we didn't go in.

"The boss won't talk to us, so we have no clue until someone starts to talk, unless we get some answer through documents." Jack informs me, walking over to the kitchen to fill a cup with water. He looks at me and I nod silently, prompting Jack to fill a cup for me as well.

"Thanks" I mumble, taking the cup from him and took a sip from the cold water. "So what happens now? Did you talk to dad?"

Jack frowns slightly, setting aside his own cup. "We have, your dad wants to take Michelangelo in, it's his son after all. But he needs to discuss it with you and your brothers first and of course Mikey's health is something we have to look at. He's going to need a lot of help"

I sigh bitterly, closing my eyes for a second. "Just like Raph" I mumble, rubbing my face slightly.

"I know kiddo, let's just see how he's doing right now. Convincing him is the thing you should be focused on right now, he needs to know that there are people out there that care about him"

As if on cue, the door to Mikey's room opened and two people walked out. One was a police officer, carrying a bag with presumably the DNA samples they just took, but the second person confused me. It was a middle-aged man. He had black/greyish hair which was slightly longer at the neck. But most importantly, he wore a white coat of some sorts.

A doctor, I deducted grimly.

"I thought they were taking fingerprints and DNA" I ask with a confused look, leaning towards Jack. The latter blinks in confusion until realisation dawns down on him, and he shakes his head slightly.

"I guess you can better go in and see for yourself" Jack says, gesturing to the door that was still open. I hesitate for a few seconds until I finally stand up before cautiously walking into the room I had been in just the previous day. The first thing I noticed was the still untouched room he was in.

The second thing I noticed was Mikey sitting on his usual spot on the bed.

"What's happening?" I speak up, confusingly eyeing at the scene in front of me. Mikey was currently only in some sweatpants, displaying his clearly malnourished form and his collection of bruises that were littering his torso, including the one on his neck I had seen the previous day.

Next to him on the bed was a young woman, barely a few older than me actually. She had blond hair that was tied in a ponytail. She was wearing a lab coat, just like the man had, and was now carefully applying something on Mikey's bruises, the latter wincing every now and then.

"Just finishing up" The girl responds, not looking at me as she continues to cover the last few bruises. Mikey grits his teeth, looking away in anger and shame.

"But why? Was he.. injured bad?" I felt weird, talking about someone, who was my little brother nonetheless, as if he wasn't there. But from the looks, and the previous conversation, I knew he wasn't a talker.

"You know don't you?" The girl, or woman, I don't even know, asks cautiously and I nod. "That leaves scars dear, and wounds that need to be treated. He's malnourished and his system is weak" She tells me gently, finishing tending to his wounds and handing him a shirt, which he accepts without a visible emotion or reaction.

"Hand me my bag will you?" The girl ask me with a small smile on her face, and I immediately give her her bag. She slides off the bed and places the bag next to Mikey, clicking it open to reveal several needles, bags, gauzes, bandages and more stuff. She takes out some disinfect and Mikey extends his arms without question.

She quickly cleans his upper arm and takes a clean needle with a clear substance. She taps a few times, making sure there are no air bubbles before quickly, but carefully, injecting the needle into Mikey's skin. The latter grimaces slightly but otherwise stays still.

"It's an antibiotic" The girl explains to me, as if she could sense my confusion. "Okay kiddo, I have two options for you. I can either give you a fluid drip, or something to stop you from vomiting."

Mikey scowls slightly. "No fluid drip" He mutters, keeping his head from both me and the girl.

"Agreed" The girl grins, pulling out another cotton swap. Mikey extents his arm again and the girl injects him again with a fluid, this time for vomiting apparently. When that was done the girl threw the empty syringes and cotton swipes away and closed her bag.

"Done for today hopefully" The girl says with a sad smile. She reaches out for Mikey's hand, squeezing it softly but Mikey slowly withdraws his hand, not looking at the girl. "I will send some food up in a moment. See you tomorrow kiddo"

I wave at her politely as she leaves, leaving Mikey and me alone for now.

"Can I ask what that was about?" I ask almost shyly, afraid that Mikey would get defensive again and send me out of the room. Instead of replying Mikey scowls, turning his head away from me.

"Check-ups" Mikey shrugs, his voice breaking slightly. "Couldn't keep my food down yesterday"

Something to stop you from vomiting. I remember grimly. And he was already thin and malnourished to begin with. Of course they had to get something in his system, which wouldn't work if he kept puking it up.

I look up to him, tears were stinging in his eyes but he quickly rubbed them out of his eyes. I had to restrain myself from crawling up his bed and give him a tight hug, something which always eased Raph when he was feeling down again. Instead I smiled sadly.

"Thanks for answering" I say, waiting for a few seconds but I got no reaction in return. "You wanted me to continue my story?"

At this Mikey turns to me, unable to fully hide the tears that were stinging in his eyes, and I had trouble keeping them at bay as well. Slowly he nods, looking at me almost hopefully before he turns to his window again.

So I continue the story, continue what Jack had told me that day. Information that was new for me as well. About our mother's murder, us being put up for adoption, and him and Raph being adopted before dad could prove his innocence.

"And Raph.." Mikey interrupts me, 'surprisingly' not looking at me.

"We found him 5 years ago.. or Jack did." I respond, and this time Mikey does look at me.

"How.. what happened" He asks, and I can't decide if he means how we found him or what he went through. But that doesn't matter, because I tell both.

"5 years ago a boy was admitted to the hospital, neighbours had heard screams and they called the cops. That boy was Raph, but nobody knew who he was, even the neighbours hadn't seen him before. He was badly injured and had old and new scars on his body. When they couldn't figure out who it was, they contacted the police

Jack, the man you saw yesterday, works with the police and was made aware. But Jack is also a good friend of ours and knows about Raph, so he immediately sent them a picture of Raph when he was a baby, and the hospital were almost completely sure it was him. So Jack ordered a DNA test and it was a match. That's when Raph was transported to the hospital here in New York"

I look at Mikey expectantly, almost waiting for him to say something but he remained silent.

"Dad talked to us about taking Raph in, and Donnie and I both agreed. It was tough to get him into our family of course, he was abused by his previous 'parents' for most of his life, that left him damaged. But he's better now." I finished, looking hopefully at my youngest brother. "If you want, you can come live with us"

"Why would you want me?" Mikey whispers, his voice sounding utterly defeated.

"Because you're our little brother. You're family"

"Only by blood." Mikey replies, staring at his hands that were now resting in his lap.

"That doesn't matter Mikey. Raph was in the same situation but we took him in nevertheless because he was family."

Mikey remains silent, lifting his head at the window once again. Smiling slightly as he looked out of the window. My smile falters at the sight. He probably hasn't seen such a sight in a long time. He probably hasn't been outside for a long time.

A silence dawns upon the room and I shift slightly, almost uneasily.

"Mikey, may I ask how long you've been there?" I ask carefully, before putting up my hands in defense. "You don't have to tell if you don't want to, and I won't tell the rest of you don't want to either" I quickly say.

The small blonde boy seemed to be lost in thought and I look at him hopefully. His short blonde hair was slowly turning black at the top of his head, evidence of the fact that he bleached it. The bruise on his neck was slowly starting to fade, considerably better than yesterday but still present.

And he seemed thin, almost malnourished.

"Mikey?" I press lightly and at this he looks down at his lap again.

"4 years"

Somehow that didn't soothe me at all. Sure it was a better answer than 'my whole life' but 4 years was still too much. That just shouldn't happen. Every month, every day was too much for a child, for anyone that was forced into such a thing against their will.

"Thank you" I tell him but Mikey doesn't react to my statement. I sit there for a while, neither of us talking or saying anything to each other. And Mikey remains frozen in his position, his gaze frozen on the view in front of him.

After a long silence I stand up softly, figuring I had pushed my luck enough today.

"Hey, I'm heading home. Jack has my number if you want to… talk or something. If you ever need someone to talk to, about anything, you can call me or my, your, brothers anytime. 'kay?"

I feel a pang of disappointment as Mikey doesn't move an inch, but I guess I shouldn't expect too much so soon. 4 years.. that was a lot of time to be ruined emotionally. Enough to ruin trust in others, adults and teenagers.

I walk over to the door, opening it to walk outside but before I can do so Mikey speaks up softly.

"Leo?" He asks and I turn to him again, but he hasn't moved from his spot.

"Yea?" This time he turns his head slightly, looking at me from the corner of his eyes.

"You can tell them, I know the doctors and… dad, want to know"

I swallow slightly at the sentence, the word 'dad' was spoken so hesitant, almost as if he was testing it, testing how it'd sound. And how relieved I was to hear him talk to dad like that, it made me sad how hesitant it sounded, and not fully convinced yet. As if he didn't accept him as his dad, not yet I hoped.

"Thanks little brother" I say, watching his reaction closely at the name calling. Was I really expecting something? Clearly I had expected a miracle to happen. No, Mikey just turned his head back again, just like he had done the whole morning.

But he didn't deny it either.


	6. Chapter 6

Orphanage December 1998

"Either way, there has been another family that seemed to be interested in one of them."

"This fast?" She frowned. "I can't understand why they are so interested in these boys.. "

But Hamato Yoshi had known why at the moment, even if he hadn't heard the statement, he read the newspaper. He had read on the internet how his youngest son, Michelangelo, had been adopted only 5 months after his arrest. And a month later he was forced to read how Raphael had been adopted as well. Children that weren't his anymore.

And it was all the fault of his former friend, Oroku Saki.

He has been stuck here for 7 months, seven whole months of not seeing his sons while missing his wife dearly. And to make things worse, he heard about the adoptions, the interest that they had in his sons. And every day there was only one thing on his mind, proving his innocence and getting back his sons. It took him too long.

Two weeks after Raph was adopted before another article was published in the newspaper, this time making headlines.

Yoshi Hamato set free, innocence proven.

He had spent every penny that he could find on the search, finding every shred of evidence that would prove that he wasn't guilty, and meanwhile trying to convince the orphanage not to put Leonardo and Donatello up for adoption. He had sent mails, letters, but nothing ever came back. Until one day he got one letter.

Another family had been deemed qualified to adopt Leonardo. It would only be a matter of weeks, maybe days before the papers were done.

But it never got that far.

Chris Bradford arrested for the murder of Tang Shen 7 months ago.

Yoshi knew that it was actually Saki, and not Bradford who was behind the murder. Saki had framed Bradford to prevent his cover from being blown. Because he knew Yoshi was close to unfolding and exposing the truth. So he framed Chris Bradford for the murder, forced him to confess.

Just like Saki had framed him for the murder. How he had left his blood after at the crime scene, and how he had tempered with all the experiments to lock Yoshi up. All because of the ransom and the false evidence at the crime scene.

And take his sons from him.

All for revenge.

TMNT

The following night, the night after the newspaper was released, the orphanage had burned down. Half of the children weren't lucky, and neither were the workers of the orphanage, and they burned along with all the documents and papers. The computers crashed and all the data on the Hamato boys had been removed.

Police claimed it was an accident.

But for Saki it was altering his plan. The data destroyed, the two humans in charge of the Hamato children murdered… this way Yoshi could never know who had adopted his children. And could never get them back. He would make sure that he wouldn't.

But even he had to admit that it was never his plan to let the children suffer. That was just bad luck.

It had taken Yoshi another 2 weeks of filling out papers, but after those weeks he could finally see his sons again, and take them home. His sons, which were now legally only Donatello and Leonardo.

He had bought another home. A large space next to the waters in Manhattan. He received a huge compensation for his imprisonment. 7 months in prison, and on top of that 2 of his sons were lost, unable to be tracked down. That was irreversible damage, and he received a lot.

He bought his apartment with the money, and for the following years he used the money he received, and already had to track down his sons. Albeit knowing he'd be too late once he found them. He knew Saki after all, he wanted to make him suffer.

And the best way to make a father suffer, was to take his children.

And while not planned,

they'd suffer in return.

TMNT

"What did he say?" Jack asks the moment I walk out of the room, shutting the door as quietly as possible.

"Maybe we should get home. I think dad wants to know as well" I suggest and Jack nods.

"That's probably for the best, come on I'll drive" Jack responds, leading me to the outside. I was glad to be outside to be honest. That building gave me the creeps, and the people there were either police, nurses or victims.

Jack leads me over to his car and I immediately get into the car, mindlessly watching out of the window as we drove over to my house.

"Hey Yoshi, I'm heading home with Leo right now… yea, he talked, Leo wanted to tell all of you at the same time" Jack said, looking at the phone that was standing on the dashboard. "Raph and Don home? … Okay good, they'd wanna hear this as well."

Again there was a silence, and vaguely I could hear dad talking on the other side of the line. I deliberately averted my gaze from Jack, rubbing my fingers along my temples as a mild headache was building up. It was simply too much information too soon. Like literally 2 days ago I had no idea I had 3 little brothers. Only knowing of Raph's and Donnie's existence.

And now I had another brother. I sighed, placing my cheek against the window.

It took us like 10 minutes to get home and I silently made my way into the house. Almost as expected, dad was waiting on me with a cup of tea in his hand.

"Welcome home Leonardo, Jack" He acknowledged our presence.

"Hey dad" I said, slightly above a whisper. Dad seemed to catch on on my distress and put a hand on my shoulder.

"I just made tea, it's still warm if you want a cup. Same goes for you Jack" He says, leading me towards the kitchen.

"Thanks, but if you don't mind I just want to get this over with" I tell him and he nods confidently.

"I assumed so" Dad replies and I quickly made a detour towards the kitchen, pouring myself two cups of tea before making my way over to the living room. And again, as expected, Raph and Donnie were already sitting on the couch.

"Hey" Donnie greeted me with a sad smile.

"Hey yourself" I joked weakly, seating myself on one of the comfortable chairs. Donnie and Raph were sitting on the same couch while dad and Jack took a seat on the other one.

"I got Mikey to talk today, I just.. I didn't want to pressure him too much so I don't have much, but hopefully we can use it." I start before telling them the whole story. Well story wasn't the right word. It was practically one piece of everything. That he had only been involved with them for around 4 years. But it somehow seemed to ease dad considerably.

Of course, because the alternative was much worse. 4 years was much better than your whole life.

After I was done talking there was a short silence before Jack stood up.

"I need to run this through the database, see if something happened four years ago. But I'm sorry Leo, I don't think there's much we can do with the information regarding his family or anything like that"

I nod silently, already expecting it actually. Of course knowing he'd been there 4 years wouldn't suddenly reveal every little secret about Mikey. We didn't even know if they were his real family, or at least the ones that raised him. That was something that was kept untold, a secret Mikey knew the answers to, but wasn't willing to share.

"I will go with you" Dad announces and looks over to me, and I give him an assuring nod, which he gratefully returns.

"Did you find anything while I was gone?" I ask, directing my gaze to Don and Raph the moment we were left alone. Don nods absently, gesturing me to follow him. I comply, following my two little brothers to Donnie's room. Raph sat down on the bed, while Don took his place on his office chair while I stood behind him, one hand on the chair.

"Jack kept the discovery mostly hidden. They know about the uncover but they kept all of the names out except for the boss' name. And all of this won't be on his criminal record, so not even the police will know about it."

"Kinda obvious since he was over there against his will" Raph butts in but Don shakes his head.

"Actually, most of the times they do get punished for something like that. But Jack managed to get the girls and Mikey a second chance so to speak"

I lean a bit closer to the screen, skimming over the pages of the article that was now being displayed on Donnie's computer. Mikey had been the only boy over there, and the only minor along with 2 other girls that were 17 years old. At least, that's what I've heard from Jack. That particular information wasn't in the articles.

Removed, or kept out, to avoid anyone finding out it was Mikey, or the other girls.

To avoid anyone finding out that our little brother was connected to the headline.

'Brothel uncovered, 22 people freed" And then the article goes on about the fact that there was only one boy, a boy among 2 men and 19 females. 2 of which were still girls. And all of them had been forced into the business.

"Me and Don have been searching.. " Raph starts as Donnie opens up another screen. "Look, whateva you say. I never experienced the same shit as Mikey did so we wanted to know what to do when…. y'know"

"When we take him in?" I finish his sentence, causing a weird look from my two little brothers. "I talked with Jack about it, I just figured dad must've talked to you about it while I was gone." I explained.

"But the question is if you do. Do you want to take Mikey in as our little brother?" Don asks us and I turn my head slightly and raised an eyebrow, almost jokingly to mock the obvious answer to the question.

"He's our little brother, if he wants to, we take him in" I answer and that's the only answer Don and Raph need.

"He'll need a family after all the shit he's been through"

I drop the slight smirk that was on my face, gazing at the screen again. Several taps were opened on the internet. All of them sporting roughly the same title. 'Aftermath of forced prostitution'.

"Hey Raph" I call out, looking away from the screen and towards my little brother. "I need to ask you a favour"

TMNT

It had been two days before Mikey had built up enough strength to go out of public normally again. After Leo had visited him that Sunday, two days ago, he had been eating again, luckily at least. Because even when I saw him for the first time just an hour ago, he was still way too thin.

"You look like him" Mikey mutters, studying him with almost dull blue eyes. But there was still a glimmer in them, signalling the lost childhood.

"What?" I ask him with confusion, taking another hesitant step towards the boy. The boy, My little brother, tensed at the intrusion but keeps eyeing at me.

"You look like Leo"

"Oh that, seems right, we're twins" I say, taking another step. Why the hell did I have to be so fucking careful around him?! That shit just wasn't right.

"I know, he told me about you, you're Raph.. right?" he adds the last word hesitantly, as if he was afraid to ask the question at all in the first place.

"The one and only" I reply with a small smirk. "Now get dressed, we're going out" At this Mikey frowns in confusion, turning his body slightly so he was facing me.

"Out?" He questions and I nod.

"I'm assumin' you have some boots, or pants" I snicker, gesturing to the sweatpants he was wearing. At this Mikey scoffs almost angrily, sliding off his bed and I grimly notice the slight stiffness that was in his movements.

Mikey quickly changes into a normal pair of pants and slips on some worn out sneakers.

"We ain't going far though. Actually yer not even allowed out yet, but Jack managed to arrange something" I tell him, opening the door of his room. Mikey seemed a bit confused, still, but he complied and walked out of the room where an officer was standing. When Mikey spotted the officer he stopped dead in his tracks, even going as far as taking a step back.

I scoff slightly. "You're scaring 'im Pete"

"Dang, that intimidating?" Pete responded and I bark out a laugh.

"Oh you wish, you couldn't even scare a puppy if you wanted to"

"Hey, I resent that! I carry a gun" Pete smirks. "But in all seriousness, have fun, but don't stray too far"

I turn my head back to Mikey, who had relaxed a bit during our conversation but was still wary Pete standing there.

"C'mon" I motion for Mikey to follow me and he hesitantly follows him. He has his hands in the pockets of his hoodie and keeps glancing around, wary of everything and everyone that he encounters. There were a couple of long glances when we left the building but luckily every guard had received the message that we were clear to leave.

"Did Leo made you do this?" Mikey suddenly asked and I looked at him.

"He ain't making me do anything, he asked me to" I reply without a doubt. "He said ya kept staring out of the window, and he kinda jumped to the conclusion that ya hadn't been outside much these last few years" I continue, maybe stupidly.

A silence is the only response I'm met with, but I decide not to press it. From what i've heard from Leo that's the last thing I wanted to do, and that Mikey's silence was something that'd occur very often. We walked for a while, approaching the park quickly, it wasn't far away to begin with anyway.

"He's right" Mikey eventually utters. "They thought I would…" The blond turns his head away in shame.

"They thought you'd get away" I finish for him but Mikey doesn't confirm it in any way, he stays silent and he doesn't nod or even look at me. Deciding against breaking the silence, we continued to walk to the park without saying anything.

Eventually we approached the park and Mikey actually stopped to stare at the sight in front of him. It was mid-fall, after school and children were running around the park. Laughing, playing and enjoying themselves. Parents were standing in small groups or sitting comfortably on the benches, occasionally watching their children.

There were several heaps of leaves, a few of them being used to jump in right now. Laughter of children echoed through the large park and I looked at Mikey again, who was still staring in wonder and also slight confusion. I can feel a sense of familiarity wash over me, I had been like that 5 years ago, when Leo and Don brought me to the park for the first time.

"What? Never seen one in yer life?" I tease lightly, but honestly it was more to try and get some answers out of him. And I wasn't pushing him, if he wanted me to tell if he'd ever been or not, he could tell me. At least, I hoped he'd catch on.

"Long time ago" Mikey mutters, anxiously looking at the ground.

I nodded, at least happy i got this out of him. "Let's go somewhere a little more comfortable" I tell him, actually unzipping the jackets lightly because it was still significantly hot in fall. I led Mikey over to a small hill, sitting down on it and viewing the playing children in front of me.

After a hesitant minute, Mikey sat down on the grass as well.

"Don and Leo took me 'ere when I was just adopted." I start, not actually looking at Mikey but keeping tabs on him through the corner of my eyes. "My caretakers were assholes who never took me to ta park, so I had no freaking clue what to do here." I continued, still refusing to acknowledge them as my parents.

They never were, not adopted, not biological.

"I didn't know shit about having fun, I wasn't allowed. Had no clue why jumping in leaves was so freaking enjoyable. But Leo and Don tricked me into it, literally" I told him, deliberately not looking at him, so he wouldn't feel obligated to say something in return, which he didn't.

After a good 10 minutes of silence I looked at him curiously, and with a smirk on my face I saw Mikey intensely staring at the playing children in front of us, occasionally looking around to look at all the plants and nature around us. Eventually he turned to me, our eyes locking for a few seconds but he immediately redirected his gaze, looking at the playing kids again.

"Mikey" I eventually ask, nudging him slightly. The blonde startled slightly, tensing up. "Dunno if ya ever heard Jack talk about it but ya obviously can't stay there for the rest of your life. Most kids get sent to an orphanage if family can't be found but.. biologically we're \ family Mike"

I tell him, silencing myself and Mikey looks down on the grass, picking a few strands and letting them fly into the wind. His eyebrows knit in concentration and he scowls slightly before relaxing his face with difficulty.

"Where are you going with this?" He eventually whispers.

"You're 15, so you can't live on your own yet. But I, and the rest, want to know what you were going to do. If you're willing to live with us, or not"

At this Mikey's breath hitched slightly, and he looked at me with disbelief before averting his gaze yet again, a defeated look in his eyes.

"I wanted to look for my aunt" He eventually whispers and I can actually feel my heart sink into my chest.

"Yer aunt?" I press him gently.

"My .. dad. When he was younger he had a fight with his sister, a bad one, and he cut off all contact with her." He tells me in a quiet voice. "I never met my aunt, and I never had the chance after the moment they… " Mikey falls silent.

"When they forced you into.. prostitution?" I ask, deciding to just confront him. Mikey tenses at the word but shakes his head furiously.

"They never did, they didn't know about that" Mikey mumbles. "They never lived long enough to know" This time it was my turn to be shocked beyond belief. I look at him with worried eyes. So that meant..

"Your parents died when you were 11?" I ask, remembering the conversation he shared with Leo, or the conversation Leo told me. That he had been in that hell-hole for four years.

"10" He says and I frown in confusion. He said he'd been there for four years, so when he was 11. But his parents died.. when he was ten?

"But you were 11 when.." I stopped mid-sentence, knowing Mikey knew what I was hinting at. The blond squeezes his eyes shut before abruptly standing up and walking away.

"Mikey!" I yell, before chasing him down. He wasn't running, he wasn't even trying to get away from me honestly. "Why'd ya walk away?" I ask, catching up and walking besides him. His hands were back in the pocket of his hoodie and the hood was pulled over his head to shield himself from anyone who was looking.

"I want to go back" he says, an angry tone in his voice. Recognising the mad tone in his voice I sigh.

"Shit Mike.. I didn't mean to press ya like this" I tell him but Mikey doesn't answer, keeping a steady pace towards the facility again. It took us half the time to get there and he immediately walked straight up to his assigned room, not looking or speaking to anyone.

I shot Jack a worried look on my way into the building but continued to follow Mikey, alone. He entered his room without waiting for anyone or caring about the two men that were in the 'living room' part of his room.

I reluctantly followed him, shutting the door between his bedroom and the living room part. Mikey crawled onto the bed, averting his gaze, but I already saw. Fresh tears leaking down his face.

"Shit" I cursed softly but Mikey seemed to hear me as he turned his head towards me, until he lowered it again. Tear streaks were clearly visible on his cheeks and he seemed to be trembling. "Sorry I fucked up, ya want to be alone right?" I say, mentally slapping myself for being so utterly stupid.

Mikey nods slightly and I turn around, leaving the room.

Unaware, and too late to hear the slowly increasing sobs, the increasing breath intake, and the upcoming panic attack.


	7. Chapter 7

"Your scribble is the only thing that's missing right now" Don smiled, nudging Mikey's shoulder slightly, who in turn stiffens at the sudden contact, recoiling from his soon to be immediate older brother.

Mikey looks up, blue eyes shining with uncertainty. There were only three people in the room right now, me, Don and the girl that I met 2 weeks ago. After that the first time I met her, I'd seen her a couple of more times, often talking with her. She was 22 years old, in her fourth year of her study to become a doctor. Not a nurse, but a real doctor.

Her name was Aileen, and she moved here from Ireland when she was just 17. Her name was Irish after all. And from what I've gathered she was the only one who's had a real conversation with Mikey who worked here.

Raph wasn't here in Mikey's 'room' because he was waiting outside with dad, Jack and a few other people. Amongst them a few guards and the official doctor that often treated Mikey. And gave Aileen advice on what to do, and what to look for.

"Kiddo?" Aileen asked softly and Mikey scowls, his hand shaking slightly. "We talked about this, you want this, don't you?"

"I do" Mikey replies in a soft voice, looking directly at Aileen.

"Then write your name silly." She encouraged him with a smile, not pressing or pressuring him in any way. Just playful banter. Mikey smiled weakly at her.

"You sure?" He asks, and it takes me awhile to understand that he was directing the question towards Don and me.

"Totally, you're family. And this only makes it official" I declare, walking up to Mikey and my second youngest brother, putting a hand on either shoulder. The blond tenses significantly at the touch but I leave it there, on advice of Aileen. He needs to get used to this, the small little touches, and show of affection.

Not push him, but slowly ease him into it; just like we'd done with Raph.

There is a moment of hesitance before Mikey quietly and messily scribbles down his name on the adoption papers. Aileen smiled, putting a hand on Mikey's free shoulder and gently taking the paper from him.

"I'm proud of you, Mikey. You'll be happy with them, I promise" She says in a voice that was barely above a whisper. Aileen glances up at us, sending us a silent message to leave, and we complied without question. I freed Mikey's shoulder from my hand and took Don's arm in return, dragging him outside Mikey's room.

Don was the first one to exit the room, and I turned around to close the door. Catching a glimpse of Mikey sitting limp in the tight hug Aileen was giving him. Not initiating the hug, but not refusing it either. Which made me really happy, to see him trust somebody like that. And sad at the same that, with the fact that letting anyone hug you was considered an improvement in trust.

Not wanting to interrupt their privacy even more, I closed the door without making too much noise, turning around to face the few people that were in the common room. I ignored the few guards that were standing around, which was pointless to begin with. As if Mikey would run out of the building, and run away.

Maybe at his old.. home. But not here.

"He signed" I smile at my dad, who in turn smiled as well, letting out a relieved and shuddering breath. A few tears welled up but he quickly composed himself.

"Then I think it is time to welcome our newest addition member into our house" At his comment Raph snorts mockingly.

"Sorry dad, but he's already seen it."

Dad smiled and nodded "All true my son, but back then the house did not belong to him. And his room had not been finished yet" Raph sighs, leaning back against the couch he was currently sitting on.

"This shit is just so familiar" Raph mutters under his breath, folding his arms over his chest, turning his head away from all of us. .

"And that's a bad thing?" Don grins, letting himself fall on top of the couch, next to his immediate older brother. "I know what you mean but we're giving him a better life. A second change, just like you had"

"You're a dork" Raph retorts before roughly, yet playfully, pushing Don away from him. The banter went on for a few seconds before the door opened again, and Aileen walked out before shutting the door again. I was going to see where Mikey was but Aileen walked directly over to me, taking my arm and dragging me to the side.

"What's wrong?" I ask, worried eyes looking at her.

"Nothing new" She waves off. "Listen.. my boss will tell you everything of course but I wanted to tell you personally." She continues, releasing my arm with a sheepish grin.

"You know you're kinda scaring me right now."

"I intent to" She laughs before turning serious again. "You know why I've been treating Mikey these past weeks, and not my boss? A real doctor nonetheless"

I frown at the question, shaking my head with confusion written on my face. "I never thought about that actually" I hesitantly say.

Aileen sighs sadly, closing her eyes for a few seconds. "It's because of what happened. Can you imagine what it's like, losing your parents and then being forced into something like that by adults?" She starts and I'm too shocked to reply. "The brothel was an exception, they had rules, they kept tabs on their customers. The youngest customer he 'served' was 28, a full adult"

"So I've heard" I whisper and Aileen places a firm hand on my shoulder.

"What i'm trying to say is….. adults did this to him, and the only comfort he had were the other two teenage girls he was allowed to see when the brothel wasn't opened. He's gonna have a hard time trusting adults like he used to, and you're gonna have a hard time as well. Your father especially"

She stops for a second, both glancing at my dad standing on the other side of the room, glancing at us as well. And I give him a sly smile to assure him.

"Be there for him when Mikey isn't willing to, because it will happen, and you'll need to be there for both of them. Don't force him Leo, ease him into it. And just remember what I told you, and what you know from the report and previous experience" She says, and she doesn't need to say Raph's name for me to know she's talking about him.

"Now go help him pack, he's just as stubborn as you guys to admit he needs help" Aileen smiled before pushing me into the direction of the door.

TMNT

Raph's POV

"It ain't finished yet but at least there's no junk in it anymore" I tell Mikey, showing him his new room. Mikey looked around, taking a few hesitant steps into the room. "The left side still needs to be repainted and you will probably need more furniture"

At this Mikey looks at the lonely bed with a slight scowl on his face before looking at me with uncertainty. I shake my head with a smirk on my face, before taking Mikey's suitcase and placing it next to the twin bed that was placed on the right side.

"Look, the Autumn break is comin' up next week, and dad will be free a couple of days; ya up for some shopping?" I ask, eyeing at the bare room with déja vu. Just 5 years ago my room had looked exactly like this. Bare, without furniture, without a personal touch, unused after all these years.

At least Mikey was lucky enough that his visit was expected, and organised. We were ready to take him in and we had already bought him a new bed. We all had the same bed here, so it was easy to pick that piece of furniture, but apart from that, nothing was the same. So we wanted to leave it to Mikey to pick his own furniture.

"How did you do it?" He suddenly whispered, sitting down on the bed and looking at me with hopeful eyes.

My eyebrows knit together in confusion. "Did what?"

"Adapt to this, leave your shitty life behind? I mean from what i've heard your life sure wasn't a walk in the park"

At this I snort, biggest understatement of the year.

"Adapting wasn't either squirt" I say in all honesty, watching with a pang of guilt as his face falls. "But just go with the flow. We're all family here. Don't be afraid to show what ya think, or what's bothering you. I was a stubborn ass back then as well so I speak from experience unfortunately."

Mikey glares at me for the comment. "I'm not stubborn" he denies and I bark out a laugh.

"Sure" I smirk before quieting down. "Admit it when you want; or don't admit it, doesn't matter to me. But I can see you are, you're just like me."

The blond scowls, redirecting his gaze by looking out of the window instead.

"In all seriousness, don't follow my advice. Just go your own way here, don't push yourself into something yer not comfortable with but don't try to isolate yourself." I say, walking towards the door again. "And Mike? My life may not be as shitty as yours, but ya can come to me any time you want"

He doesn't reply however and keeps his gaze on the window, a sight that I was familiar with right now. A few seconds pass before the scowl, that had been permanently on his face since I showed him his room, slowly vanished but he doesn't say anything.

"We'll be ordering some pizza later probably, will you come down to eat with us?" I ask in vain, seconds pass and he doesn't say anything.

I sigh, knowing I wasn't getting anything out of him anymore and I semi closed the door, walking away and leaving him alone.

TMNT

I had only experienced one empty room when I was adopted, I took the second empty room. But Leo and Don had grown up with two empty bedrooms. The only similarity was the fact that we all had no idea what the empty rooms were for. They eventually learned that the third room had been for me, and now we knew that the fourth one was for Mikey.

It had been bad enough to lose two of your children on top of losing your wife, but he had unconsciously, or hopefully, bought a house with 5 bedrooms. One for him, and four for his sons. In the five years I had been here he had never explained his intentions, so I guessed it was a combination of both.

He refused to believe that two of his sons were gone. And he was still hopeful that they'd be found.

And with the latter he wasn't far off, just the age.

The house was relatively small, but still more than enough for us. It was in a relatively quiet part of Manhattan, still close to the center, but it wasn't as crowded as the absolute centre. The building was large, consisting of 14 floor. Every house in the building consisted of 2 floors, and there were several apartments on every floor.

We had the outer corner of the building, so two sides of our apartments were covered in windows. All our bedrooms had a view over the sea next to Manhattan and so did the livingroom and Dad's bedroom.

We had two floors, the upper floor consisted of 4 small bedrooms and two small bathrooms. Downstairs was dad's room, the living room and the kitchen combined and a study room.

"How's he settling?" Don immediately asked when I descended down the stairs. Leo was nowhere in sight and neither was dad, I knew the latter was still working but I had no idea where Leo was actually. Don was sitting on the couch, the tv on in front of him but his eyes were focused on me.

I sigh, walking over to him and letting myself fall down onto the couch. "Better than expected. Not like the squirt has anythin' to unpack" I snort. "Asked him if he wanted to go shopping next week with us, ya in?"

"Aren't I always?" Don grins in return and I roll my eyes at him.

"Why tha hell did I ask?!" I bite back while rolling my eyes.

The conversation falls silent afterwards. But neither minded as we silently continued to watch TV. Eventually Leo came home, and some time later so did dad.

But Mikey never came down to eat.

TMNT

A loud yell, agonising and piercing through the entire apartment, wakes them up hours later. Yoshi is the first one to be woken, but he isn't the first one out of bed, and certainly not the first one to reach his son's door. The cry resonated even through to his room, albeit vaguely, and it sent chills down his spine.

Raph was the first one to be at Mikey's room, closely followed by Leo and Don.

Raph stumbled slightly when he entered the room, greatly disoriented by being awakened so suddenly, but directly ran for the panting figure that was now upright in his bed.

"Mikey" Raph yelled, reaching the blond teen within seconds.

Raph's eyes widened, as wide as Mikey's were, as he saw his little brother. Sweat literally dripping down his forehead and as pale as a ghost. "Mikey" He said again, ignoring the presence of the rest of his family and he reached forwards, putting a comforting hand on Mikey's shoulder...

… only for it to be immediately slapped away.

"Don't touch me!" Mikey growled, scooting backwards until he was near the edge of his bed. It was then that they all grimly noticed that we was wearing his normal shirt he wore every day, now soaked with sweat in various places.

"Michelangelo" Yoshi quietly spoke up, brushing past Leo and Donnie to stand next to his second oldest son.

"Don't call me that, that's not my name" Mikey snapped, swinging his legs over the bed till he was standing on the ground. His chest was still rising and falling faster than normal, almost like he was hyperventilating and his limbs trembled too much to be holding his own weight, which wasn't much to begin with.

"Easy Mi-" Leo cut himself off. "Just take it easy, what happened?" Leo questioned, heart thumping in his chest and exhaustion clawing at his mind.

"You know damn well what happened" Mikey gritted through his clenched teeth, glaring at the floor beneath him. Leo shifted uneasily, looking at Donnie for help but Donnie was just as helpless and clueless as his oldest brother.

"We only want to help ya"

"And I don't need it!" Mikey yelled back and Yoshi took a small step forwards, reaching out for his youngest son but Mikey immediately recoiled. "I SAID DON'T TOUCH ME!" Mikey screamed in both anger and fear, leaping off the bed but crashing to his knees the moment he stood up.

He grunted painfully, bowing forwards and rubbing his knees angrily, tears streaming down his face.

Raph flinched harshly at Mikey's reaction, only 5 years ago that had been him. He may not remember everything perfectly, but he knew he had been screaming his head off. Slowly he dropped to one knee, reaching out one hand to touch Mikey's shoulder. Immediately Mikey recoiled, cringing and curling into himself.

"Please.. don't touch me" he mumbled, softly rocking himself back and forth.

"It's okay little bro, yer not … yer safe"

Slowly Mikey looked at Raph, tears streaming down his face in endless rivers. "Please" He uttered softly, and Raph slowly reached out to comfort Mikey again but again the blond recoiled. "Don't touch me, please. I want to be alone… please"

A few silent seconds passed, Raph's hand hovering in the air as if he was still waiting for Mikey to say it was okay to touch him, before the second oldest slowly got up. The family, except Mikey, watched as Raph pulled the covers off the bed, only to carefully wrap it around his youngest brother.

"I will be right next door squirt" He whispered so the rest of the family wouldn't hear him, before turning back to his family, silently gesturing to the door. There was a moment of hesitance but eventually they all turned around and left the room, including Raph, leaving Mikey all alone in his new room.

Because Raph understood; understood the reluctance Mikey had to show them his tears. It wasn't weird; Mikey didn't know them.

Of course he didn't trust them yet.


	8. Chapter 8

"I'm sorry" Was the first thing the three brothers heard in the morning. It was Saturday morning, and the three were all eating breakfast, unaware of the youngest coming down the stairs until they had heard him speak that sentence.

"For what?" Donnie asks as he turns around to face his now younger brother; his only younger brother. His hair was standing up slightly, sleep clear in his eyes, and he was still wearing his usual clothing, the one he was also wearing at the clinic when he was freed from that brothel, now 3 weeks ago.

"For freaking out like that" Mikey muttered and averted his head slightly. "It won't happen again" He says with a serious tone, guilt lacing his voice.

"Mikey" Leo quickly speaks up, taking a few steps towards the blonde but eventually deciding against it. "You can always come to one of us, it's not your fault. You're family" He says and Mikey looks up slightly, his eyes shining from upcoming tears.

"I know but…" He hesitates for a bit before he turns towards the stairs again. "Thanks" He eventually utters, completely changing the subject. Raph and Don look at each other, clearly seeing what Mikey was doing, and with a sense of deja vu as well. Raph scoffed as he saw what Donnie was thinking, waving it off.

He didn't need to be reminded that he had done the same thing when he was younger.

"Don't go upstairs" Leo quickly says when Mikey turned around to go upstairs again, but he stopped when he heard Leo, stiffening slightly. "I-I mean.. you can but why don't you eat some breakfast with us? But it's up to you"

"'m not hungry" Mikey eventually mumbles before walking up the stairs, leaving the three brothers to watch his youngest brother. Leo sighs in defeat, turning back to his younger two brothers.

"He'll need some time" Don says quietly, Leo looks up at the mention with tears brimming in his eyes.

"I know" He utters, voice cracking slightly. A single tear now falls down his face and he hides his face in embarrassment. Donnie's face falls and he stands up, walking towards his oldest brother before tightly wrapping his arms around him. "I d-don't even know why I'm crying" Leo mumbles in Donnie's shoulder.

The second youngest smiled sadly, rubbing Leo's back to comfort him. Yet, he doesn't say anything, knowing that nothing would thoroughly comfort Leo. Nothing could; no words, and no hugs. But he knew that the latter would help. It always did, for the two of them when they were younger, and then for the three of them.

And maybe now for the four of them.

Eventually Don releases Leo from the hug, looking his older brother in the eyes. Slowly, yet confidently, Leo nods and gives his younger brother a well-deserved smile.

"We'll get through this Leo" Don says and Raph nods from the table.

"Genius is right" He butts in. "Ya've done it before after all" He states, all too obvious to whom they were referring.

"He'll settle"

TMNT

...

He never did.

Weeks went by and the boys got used to having a fourth brother in their lives. Yoshi was also starting to get used to the new responsibilities and new schedule they had to bear in mind. They made it work though. Yoshi already had three children to look after. All of them bearing some kind of psychological sickness.

Raph being the worst of them.

Mikey was forced to talk to someone once every week, to talk about what he's gone through. He had only agreed on one condition, they wouldn't hear a word about it. Of course the psychologist couldn't fulfil that promise, no one could. If certain information would indicate that he was about to harm, be harmed or harm himself; he had an obligation to tell.

But, luckily, until now that hasn't happened. Yet. Mikey didn't go to school yet, doctors declared that he wasn't ready yet. Emotionally that is. So for now he was staying home. The brothers skipped as many days as the school allowed them to to keep Mikey company. Don skipped the most because of his reputation, he had no trouble keeping his grades up.

But a school would and could only allow so much. So Mikey was alone quite a lot. Even Yoshi couldn't take a lot of sick days. His boss knew the situation he was going through, he knew about Mikey and Raph, but he would get in trouble himself if he allowed Yoshi to go more. So that wasn't option either.

So weeks went by and the brothers slowly settled into their new lives; Mikey didn't.

He had trouble adapting to his new life. He didn't know them, he didn't know the people who claimed to be his family. Even if he believed them; they were strangers to them. Apart from DNA, he had no ties to them. He hadn't bonded with them, barely knew anything about him. And he was withdrawn.

He didn't settle, quite the opposite actually. He rarely talked to anyone. And when he talked it was only what was necessary. He never engaged a simple conversation about his day, or about some random subject. He mostly shied away, escaping towards his room.

Even now he was alone in his room. Only him and Raph were home and the latter only had one lesson today so he just skipped school altogether to keep Mikey company. Which mostly meant Mikey staying in his room, and Raph walking aimlessly around the house in case Mikey actually engaged a conversation.

Something that never happened.

"Can we- you, talk?"

Until now. Raph grimly thinks and he looks up from his position, sitting cross-legged on his bed. Mikey was standing in the door opening, leaning against the side. The blond didn't look good. He had sweat against his brow and his face was pale. Not to mention the fact that he was leaning heavily against the door.

"Are ya feelin' okay?" Raph asks, completely ignoring Mikey's demand.

"I want you to tell me about about your past life" Mikey demands again in a small voice, only to be met with complete silence. "Don't ignore me" Mikey adds angrily, glaring at his 'older brother'. Raph looks up, unable to ignore his little brother. But he didn't give in.

"Maybe ya should lie down. Ya look exhausted" Raph points out, eyeing at the huge bags under Mikey's eyes. "Are ya even sleepin' at all? I've been hearin' ya scream.."

"Stop that" Mikey snaps angrily. "I want you to talk"

"Sit down first" Raph says with a frown on his face.

"NO!" Mikey screams angrily, furious tears in his eyes. "I want you to tell me about your parents, before this"

Raph blinks a few times before he takes over the angry glare that was on his brother's face. "No" He says coldly. "I want ya to sit down."

"Bullshit!" Mikey screams.

"I won't talk about that Mikey, ya aint makin' me" Raph frowns, glaring at his younger brother. Vaguely he realised how he was treating his traumatised, mind you, brother. But he wasn't thinking rationally right now. His heart thumping in his chest as memories were pushed back to the surface.

"You always tell me to talk! You always tell me that it helps!" Mikey screams angrily, the first tears starting to stream down his face. "Why won't you talk?! Don't you realise you're being a fucking hypocrite?"

"I said no Michelangelo" Raph says, surprisingly calm. Mikey blinks a couple of times, his glare loosening immensely all of a sudden. Seconds pass, full minutes pass and neither stop staring.

"They named me Mikey" He eventually breaks the silence, completely surprising Raph

"Huh?"

"My parents." Mikey clarifies. "I don't know if it was a coincidence or not; but they named me Mikey"

Raph is silent again for a few minutes, anger fully gone right now. "They kept mine as well." Raph eventually whispers, causing Mikey to look at him with a surprised look. Raph scoffs slightly. "Raphael; they named me Raphael." He clarifies.

There was a short silence, neither one expecting to say anything "I couldn't find my aunt" Mikey whispers.

".. I know" Raph whispers back. "I'm sorry" He eventually adds. Mikey stumbles slightly and Raph immediately scoots to the edge of his bed.

"Mikey" Raph says softly and baby blue eyes snap towards his older brother. Slowly Mikey makes his way over to Raph's bed, climbing onto it without Raph asking. The latter smiled, scooting backwards to give his little brother some space so he wouldn't feel too cramped.

"Yer right, I was being a hypocrite. I should've told ya" Raph reluctantly admits. "I know ya don't want to hear it, but I'm still scared of them" the memories. They add silently, and Mikey nods slightly, knowing what Raph is talking about.

"Can ya be honest with me?" Raph asks hesitantly and Mikey slowly looks up. From up close the bags seemed even worse and he realised how drowsy Mikey actually looked. Fatigue was clearly visible in his eyes. He was fighting a losing battle Raph grimly noted. And there wasn't anything he could do against it.

Mikey didn't answer verbally, and he didn't move. He only looked, uncertainty shining in his eyes. Yet, he didn't protest against the question.

"How much sleep are ya gettin'?" Raph eventually asks when he saw that Mikey wasn't protesting, or saying no to the question. Raph shifts slightly, looking at his little brother with anxiety and curiosity at the same time.

"Enough" Mikey eventually mumbles, the lie all too obvious in the statement. Raph sighs in defeat, looking away for a split-second before gazing at Mikey again.

"Mikey.. ya don't have to answer everything. Ya know that." He starts hesitantly. "But please be honest with me okay?"

Mikey frowns slightly but yet again keeps silent.

"I hear ya scream Mikey, we all do" Raph says with a frown. "There's a thin wall between us, I hear ya wake up after a nightmare. Even if the rest ain't hearin' it"

The frown on Mikey's face deepens. "I'm sorry"

"There ain't nothin' to be sorry for" Raph points out, shaking his head. "I did the same back then" He adds reluctantly. Mikey's harsh words still fresh in his mind. It wasn't untrue either, he was being a hypocrite. Constantly telling Mikey to talk about his feelings, to talk about the things he went through because it would help.

And yet, he never spoke a word about what happened to him. But that was different, wasn't it? He was better, he got settled and he was cured. Right?

Raph looked up when Mikey started to cough suddenly. The older teen winced sympathetically at the sound. He sounded sick as could be, and his face was starting to turn a slight tinge of red as less and less oxygen managed to get inside his lungs. Eventually the coughs died down and Mikey took a shuddering breath.

Mikey's blue eyes locked with Raph's but the younger immediately turned his head away with a scowl. Suddenly Mikey scoffs angrily and slides off the bed with shaky arms. He sways on his feet for a split second before he walks out of the room.

And just like that; he was gone.

Raph never made a move to stop him.

TMNT

It was several hours later when I found myself leaning against the entrance to Mikey's room, similar to how Mikey had been leaning against mine. Currently my arms were crossed over my chest and I was looking sideways into the room where Mikey was sitting against the side of his bed.

He was sitting on the ground, one knee drawn up to his chest while the other one was stretched out. Even if he was facing the door, and me, he didn't initially look at me, even if he heard me approach. He was wearing some simple sweatpants and a white t-shirt, nothing special but it wasn't the thing he wore back in the clinic.

Over these last weeks we had of course bought him new clothes; new furniture and personal items.

"I never went to school" I say with a confident voice but from the inside I was scared shitless. Mikey slowly looked up, confusion written on his face.

"Why?" He asks softly, cocking his head to the side. I sigh, walking into the room and closing the door. Even if I knew that it wouldn't matter. Dad wasn't even home right now, and Don and Leo were watching TV, so they wouldn't be hearing our conversation either. Still, it gave a sense of safety.

And with what I was about to tell him.. I needed that.

"Neither of us were legally adopted" I started, leaning against the now closed door. "But my parents weren't economically stable enough to adopt kids. And it was already known that my mom couldn't get pregnant after a bad miscarriage"

Mikey stared at me, sorrow in his eyes. "Those weren't your parents" He whispered softly and I sigh, shaking my head softly.

"They were the first 10 years of my life" I mumble. "I didn't know better y'know. But I do now"

"Why didn't you.. y'know..?" He asks again, and I sigh, knowing it was a question about the statement I had made about me not attending school.

"Because nobody could know I existed" The blond nods absently, understanding written on his face before looking down at his own lap. I stare at him for a few moments before I walk over to him, climbing on top of the bed and looking down at Mikey, who was still sitting on the ground with his back against the bed.

We both stayed silent for some time, neither of us saying anything or even acknowledge the other. But it wasn't awkward in any way, it felt comfortable.

"I loved mine" Mikey suddenly mumbles and I look at him, my eyebrows knitting together in confusion. Took me a few seconds to realise he was talking about his 'parents'

"They couldn't get kids themselves so they adopted me… I don't think they even knew I wasn't legally adoptable" He explains and I smile gently at the story, encouraging him to go on.

But, not so surprising either, he didn't continue with his story. instead he kept looking at his hands, which were firmly placed on his lap. He was fidgeting nervously, scratching his hands absently.

"They would lock me in the basement when someone would visit. To avoid anyone finding out" I say after a silence, rubbing my wrists at the memory. Still able to feel the rope or chains that would wrap around my limbs to keep me from escaping, or rip off my gag. Not like I would ever do, I was too scared back then.

"They locked me up as well in the beginning. So I would cooperate" Mikey mumbles almost directly afterwards, averting his gaze completely so I was looking at the back of his head. His blond hair already turning black at the top. And I knew who they were, to whom Mikey was referring. The people at the brothel.

I exhale through my nose, both silently accepting the game of 20 questions, or at least a twisted version of the game.

"One time our basement flooded and my 'dad' put me in the attic after I did somethin' wrong." I scoff slightly at the memory, and how stupid it actually was. "Idiot forgot the attic wasn't soundproof"

I laugh bitterly, laughing at the irony of the whole situation. That my dad's beating would be the thing that would prevent me from ever getting beaten again. Not that I was thinking about that at the moment. I only remember the agonising pain as he repeatedly hit me with his belt, and the screams that would leave my throat sore for days.

Then a fist against my skull, and then the next thing I know was waking up in the hospital. My real dad sitting next to my bed and holding my hand. I smirk, you can probably guess how I reacted. In extreme pain, disorientated, emotionally hurt and a strange man holding my hand. Something I had not been familiar with up until that point.

And the first new person I had met in 10 years.

Mikey seems to catch on as he looks at me with an apologising look. "Can I see?" He asks shyly.

My first thought was to say no, no way in hell that I was gonna show him. I didn't even show it to Leo and Don anymore. It was just a part that would be ignored most of the time. They of course saw it when we would change sometimes, at school for example, or when we'd go swimming.

But then I realised the little fight we had just hours ago. And Mikey eventually being the one to be right. So I slowly nodded, both standing up. He watched curiously as I turned around and lifted my shirt to show my back. Which was definitely the most scarred. It wasn't like my dad needed to hide the beatings, because no one knew me.

My psychiatrist told me that it was something psychological. That they would rather have the wounds be covered up, because even with how deranged my 'dad' was, or other child abusers, they would still have some sense of morality. Of course that didn't change the fact that he kept beating me with every mistake, or if something went wrong in his life.

I shiver as cold fingers prod my back and I instantly turn around.

"I'm sorry" Mikey cringes, holding his hand close to his chest and watching me with wide eyes as I let my shirt fall over my scarred back again. Vaguely I realise that Mikey wasn't that much shorter than me regarding height but I could only stare at his face. He seemed to be worse than a few hours ago.

His blue eyes were now dull and filled with fatigue, still he tried to act strong and healthy. He was panting softly and breathing hard through his nose, his skin pale and his body shivering ever so slightly. Almost too little to notice.

"Yer ill" I state again, hoping Mikey wouldn't blow up like he did the last time I pointed that out. But as I feared, Mikey scowled weakly.

"I'm not, it's not bad. Not as bad as…" he stops himself, looking away with sadness in his eyes. I frown.

"Not as bad as who?"

The blond gnaws at his lip at the question. And I hope he realises that he doesn't necessarily have to answer the question, that he's free to say he doesn't want to answer it.

"My mom" Mikey eventually utters, looking me directly in the eyes. "When I… when I was nine my mom got really sick, like hospital sick." I swallow thickly, baffled by the sudden revelation, shocked by the fact that he'd want to share so much.

"Did she die? …...Is that how you ended up with them?" I question hesitantly. And I wouldn't even know how that would make sense in the first place. Her dying causing Mikey to end up in that horrible place, in prostitution, but I asked nevertheless. Because I was hoping Mikey would explain.

"It's not… she didn't die because of that" The sickness. Mikey mutters and suddenly he sits down, burying his face in his hands. "I want to be alone" He says, muffled through his hands. I nod absently, even if he wouldn't be able to see it.

I wanted to deny the request, be with him right now. But even I realised that I had pushed my luck enough today. He told me more than he has done in the last few weeks, he has revealed more than he has done in the last 2 months. He had trusted me with painful information. So I listened to his request.

I turn around, walking over to the door but a voice stops me. "My parents were good people Raph, they never wanted me to be.. there" Mikey adds, his eyes brimming with tears. I gape slightly but I nod, ignoring the silent addition to the sentence. And it only confirmed our speculation around how Mikey ended up in that house.

How he ended up in the prostitution business.

But ultimately I left with more questions than answers.

They never wanted me to be.. there...

...But they were the reason.


	9. Chapter 9

You can say a lot about Mikey, what he was like, how he acted, or how well he was adapting but one thing that was certainly true was the fact that he was damn silent, no denying that statement. I hadn't even heard him coming down the stairs and I don't even know how long he'd been standing there.

"Where's dad?" He whispers almost too quiet for us to hear, giving away that he was standing behind the couch. And by the reaction Don and Leo show, I conduct that they hadn't heard him either.

I turn around, putting an elbow on the seat of the couch to turn around and look at him, standing near the stairs that would lead to the second floor, looking very out of place. His hair was slightly wet and he was wearing a new set of clothes. A simple pair of sweatpants and a white t-shirt.

He still didn't look great, worse in fact.

"He didn't tell ya?" I ask with a frown on my face, why wouldn't dad tell him? Mikey slowly shakes his head but Don quickly jabs me in the stomach. "What?" I almost snap, turning towards my immediate younger brother.

"He doesn't need to know Raph" Don hisses under his breath but I scoff.

"Dad will be gone for the next two day, somethin' with his job" I say. To be fair, I wasn't lying, I just wasn't telling the entire truth. Lies of omission as Don would call it. And I felt bad, but we all decided it was better not to tell him the truth.

"Oh…" Mikey says, looking unsure at what to do. "I'm going…" he started but stopped himself, silently retreating towards the stairs again. Neither of us said anything, only watching Mikey drag himself up the stairs. His legs were starting to quiver under him but he kept walking until we heard the door in the hallway slam.

He was trying, trying to socialise with us but it was too obvious that he was struggling to do so.

"I thought you were going to tell him" Donnie says once the door was shut and we were sure he couldn't hear us.

"Of course not" I scoff, looking down at my hands. "But we need ta tell 'im" I point out and Leo frowns.

"Not yet" He says and I look at him. Not really agreeing or denying. "Telling him will only set him off. At least.. I think it will" He says, directing his gaze to me.

"I would" I reluctantly admits, neither of us comfortable with that statement, my past life. "Look we don't even know if they're gonna go after him. He sure wasn't the only one in that hellhole"

"But he was the only boy and besides, we can't rule it out" Don says, a concerned look on his face. I nod absently, feeling anger flaring up. Two days ago the boss of the brothel Mikey was rescued from would be transported to his definite prison, where he'd stay for the rest of his life. But something had gone wrong, and the man, Zucco, was freed.

They still didn't know who had successfully freed Zucco, or why it could've happened in the first place but ever since the police has been locating the ones rescued from the brothel, keeping them safe from a possible attack, including Mikey, who was now possibly in danger.

And if Zucco breaking free wasn't bad enough already, 2 others had been freed along with him. The moment the police had seen what had happened they doubled security but they weren't fast enough, or smart enough to keep a mole from infiltrating and freeing them. And right now they were on the loose again.

"Eventually he needs to know" Don points out, shifting slightly on the couch next to Leo, who nods absently. "His life could be in danger if they decide to go after him"

"But why the hell would they? People would .. well recognise 'im" I shudder at the thought, even imagining Mikey in that horrible place again gave me goose bumps all over my body. It was worse than every beating I had gone through at home. And I didn't even know what exactly had happened before he was forced to work in that brothel.

All I knew that he was loved by his adopted parents, and his mom eventually got sick. And that was the reason he ended up in there. But she didn't die because of the sickness, the real cause still unknown. And the rest also knew that piece of information.

"Maybe it has something to do with how he ended up there?" Don asks, looking at me but I shake my head.

"He told me nothin' more. I don't have a freakin' clue" I mutter, shaking my head.

"We just have to be sure that they can't get to him; someone has to stay with him" Leo says, silently taking on the big brother mantle again.

"Not too hard if he never leaves the house" Don says with a bitter undertone.

"He needs time" I mutter, bringing my knees up to my chest and focusing on the television in front of me again. The conversation immediately ending afterwards.

TMNT

Dad was still gone in the evening, and we had no clue how long it would take before he got back again. And to be honest, I didn't want to keep lying to Mikey. I know how shitty it feels when your new family keeps secrets from you, but right now it was for his own good, to keep him safe.

Pretty ironic since I had been so angry about those things many times.

Them keeping things from me about my previous family, things that would 'set me off', or something that would make me upset. They didn't want that, they only wanted to protect me, just like we were protecting Mikey right now. And yet I was so upset that they did, upset that they didn't tell me.

I sigh silently, putting away my plate on the counter in the kitchen before walking towards the couch. It was dark already, and the living room was lit with artificial light, curtains drawn in front of the windows for a sense of privacy.

"Whatcha watching?" I ask, careful to keep my voice down so I wouldn't scare him. The blond looks up for a second, keeping a watchful eye on me as I sit down next to him. Then he shrugs, repositioning himself so he his legs were next to him on the couch. Still it surprised me how Mikey could practically make himself comfortable in every position.

I look at him from the corner of my eyes, but the only thing he's focused on is the television in front of us, and his hands that were constantly rubbing his head.

"Have you tried an aspirin?" I ask.

"A what?" He asks with a confused look on his face.

"An Aspirin. To help with yer headache" I say and realisation slowly dawns down on him.

"Oh.. those" He says before shaking his head lightly. "Not yet"

"Could've asked me before I sat down" I joke but obviously Mikey doesn't catch onto the joke so I just stand up, walking over to the kitchen to grab the first aid kit. There were numerous packages in there so I just grab the first aspirin I could find and walked back with the pill and a glass of water.

"Here" I say gently, handing him the glass and the pill. He looks at it with uncertainty, rolling the pill in his hand. "It'll help ya. Just take it, trust me" I encourage him and only then does he put the pill in his mouth before quickly taking a sip and swallowing it in one go. I take the glass from him and hand him a blanket.

He looks slightly surprised at the gesture but eventually wraps the blanket around himself after I motion him to do so.

"I'm sorry about a few days ago" Mikey suddenly mentions as I sit down next to him again.

"About?" I ask, truly confused.

"I made you tell me about your parents.. " He whispers and suddenly I understand where this is going. I shake my head and let out a soft laugh.

"Only you would feel bad" I mutter before turning to the blond. "Mikey, if I wouldn't've wanted to tell ya, no way in hell would I have told ya. I wanted to tell you"

Mikey frowns, looking away from me again. "I forced you, I yelled at you"

"Mikey, ya deserve ta know. I was just being a hypocritical idiot but i'm glad ya trusted me enough to tell, and I trusted you enough to tell ya about my family"

"I didn't tell you about my traumas" Mikey whispers and I blink for a second.

"Because you just escaped them, I had five years ta get over 'em. It's okay ya didn't tell me, ya told me enough already" And I meant it, of course I wanted to know more, of course I wanted to know how he ended up in that brothel. But I perfectly understood that he wasn't ready to tell us yet.

"... I'm sorry" He mutters again and roll my eyes with a playful smile.

"Shush and watch the movie" I laugh gently, effectively shushing him. I smile silently at the little victory, but also at the playful banter that he had silently accepted. Because even despite his sweaty hair and his sickly complexion, he was smiling slightly. Or rather failing at hiding that he was smiling.

Minutes went by, and both of us sat in silence, neither of us feeling awkward. I knew dad still wasn't home and Leo and Don were upstairs working on some project for school.

I almost jumped when something suddenly hit my shoulder, and I looked down to see Mikey's head laying on my shoulder, only for him to immediately jerk up, completely startled and looking at me with wide and glazed over eyes, the fever still working its magic.

"It's okay bonehead" I snicker with a twinge of worry, trying to coax him onto my shoulder again, because he needed his sleep judging by the bags that were under his eyes and from experience I knew how fast someone would fall asleep like that but he shakes his head, pushing my arms away.

"Ican't go t' sleep" He says, slurring the words slightly as fatigue was getting to him.

"I know why ya don't want ta sleep but ya need it" I say gently, reaching out again. "I won't leave ya, I'll wake ya up when you get a nightmare. Kay?"

He stares at me for a moment, clearly debating on what to do but eventually he relaxes on my shoulder again, wiggling slightly until he was comfortable. I snicker slightly and lean back slightly, making myself comfortable as well. Because I knew that I'd probably be sitting here for a long time.

TMNT

"You owe me" Leo said as he descended down the stairs, I groan softly, careful not to wake Mikey up and I look backwards to see Don and Leo coming down the stairs, grinning at us.

"Don't tell me you…. never mind" I state dryly, rolling my eyes as Donnie hands his money over to Leo. They both smirk and I shake my head. "You guys are horrible" I mutter.

"You love us" Don whispers next to me, a smile on his face.

"Well I'm starting to question that" I snort, watching as Leo walks towards us with a blanket in his hands, walking to the front of the couch and wrapping it around Mikey's sleeping body.

"I'm just glad he's finally asleep" Leo says, pushing the blond hair out of Mikey's face. "He's warm" Leo states as he places his hand on top of Mikey's forehead, frowning slightly.

"The sickness is probably getting to him. He was too stressed and had too little sleep, his body is at its end" Don informs, his smile off his face as he looks at his immediate younger brother.

Leo sighs, wiping away the sweat on Mikey's forehead with his sleeve. "He still has to know" Leo points out and I nod, I didn't like it, not one bit. But I knew we had to tell him soon. He had the right to know that police couldn't do their job for shit and let his captors loose. Possibly endangering Mikey's already fucked up life.

"Let's get you two to Dad's room, from the looks I think he'll be out for a while" Leo says and motions for me to stand up. I sigh, carefully taking my arm back and standing up but being careful to keep Mikey upright. I slid an arm under his knees and one under his back, easily hosting him up.

I stagger slightly, but not because he's heavy, it's the lightness that puts me off balance.

Don looks at me with a puzzled look but I just shake my head, walking over to dad's room. As always, his room is organised and clean so I had no problem walking over to the bed. I turn left, carefully placing Mikey onto the bed and I turn to Leo.

"I promised I'd stay.. for nightmares and stuff" I whisper and Leo nods in understanding.

"Figured as much" He assures and wishes me goodnight before leaving the room. I sigh, climbing on top of the bed and pulling the covers over the both of us. I lay awake for some time, watching as Mikey continuously, and slowly, shuffles closer to me in his sleep.

I sigh, wrapping my arm around the blonde and letting him use me as a human pillow. And it isn't long before I feel my eyelids drop as well.

TMNT

"No nightmares huh?" I ask, handing Mikey a cup of tea, who gratefully accepted the cup but his mouth stays sealed for a moment. The blond casts his eyes downwards at the question and I frown, waiting for him to say something.

"Nothing bad" He mutters and I can immediately feel my heart sink at the mention. They were still there, he still had them. But really, what was I expecting? Me sleeping next to him would cure him immediately? I scoff at myself, of course it wouldn't go like that.

"Drink up, I'll get you some medicine" I say instead and Mikey shudders in his blanket, cringing into himself. I sigh, walking over to the kitchen to grab some medicine. "Anything?" I ask as I saw Leo standing there, leaning against the counter with a cup of tea in his hands with a troubled look on his face.

He looks at me, a sad look appearing in his eyes. "They were spotted near the border to our state, but police lost them."

"How far?" I ask, reaching for the medicine kit in the meantime.

"225 kilometres from here, near Binghamton." (140 miles) Leo says, taking a sip from his drink.

"They better catch those bastards quick, I don't like lying to 'im" I growl, crossing my arms over each other and Leo nods with a sad expression on his face.

"How's he doing by the way?" Leo asks, changing the topic. I shift, closing the medicine kit.

"I'm not sure if he's even worse. He was stressin' too much these last few weeks, years maybe." I add and Leo nods with a knowing look. "At least now his body's gettin' some rest"

"You good looking after him alone? I promised Karai I'd help her study for the Math test tomorrow. But I can cancel if you need help" Leo suddenly asks and I roll my eyes.

"He's sick, not dyin', we'll be okay" I assure him and he gives me a grateful smile. "Have fun with yer girlfriend" I added with a smirk and Leo stuck out his tongue for good measure, knowing it wouldn't be wise to react verbally in the first place. Speaking from previous experiences.

I snicker, shaking my head as I walk back to the couch, medicine in my hand.

"Yer definitely gettin' worse" I mutter, giving him the medicine and walking to the front of the couch. I slowly reach for his face and he doesn't even react, watching me with tired eyes as I push his sweaty bangs from his face. "Definitely burning up" I mutter, handing him the glass of water that was behind me on the table while simultaneously taking his tea.

Mikey mutely took the glass and propped the pills in his mouth before he swallowed them with a gulp of water. Just as I took the glass from him he started coughing violently, doubling over and turning red as no air was getting into his lungs.

"Easy Mikey.. yer gonna be okay" I whisper with some worry in my voice, sitting down next to him and rubbing circles on his back. The coughing continued for a while but eventually he stopped, heaving and struggling to get enough oxygen in before he slumped against me, completely exhausted.

He sniffles slightly, trying to hide the pathetic sound but failing to do so. I decide not to comment on it.

"Mom always wrapped me in a warm blanket and pushed the couch in front of the fireplace when I got sick" Mikey mutters after a long silence, not moving from his spot, still comfortable leaning against my side. "She'd stay with me the whole day till I got better" I frown slightly in surprise, not sure how to respond.

"Well, we don't have a fireplace here" I eventually respond and Mikey snickers slightly next to me, and I beam at his laugh. Not the dry laugh or the sarcastic laugh he mostly had. Not to mention the fake smile he often put up. This laugh was genuine.

"The first time I got sick here I tried to hide it, that's what I always did" I start and I swallow thickly, why was this so hard? I told everyone already, everyone except Mikey. So why was it so hard? Mikey shifts slightly against my side but stays in his place for the most part. I wrap an arm around him and he sighs happily.

"They eventually found out when I puked during dinner… and when I had a panic attack right after"

"Why?" Mikey asks, innocent blue eyes looking up to me. I glance back at them, our eyes connecting for a few seconds, his blue eyes blazing with a clear message. 'I want to know but you don't have to tell me'. But I wanted to tell.

"I had only been with 'em for 4 months… at my previous home I'd get punished for doin' shit like this. Bein' sick meant I couldn't do their dirty work, and puking meant a smelly room, and more work for them, since I was too sick to do it myself" Not like they'd do it themselves, sick or not, it was my mess to clean.

"I'm sorry" Mikey murmurs, wincing at my statement.

"S'okay, here it wasn't like that. Dad took care of me while Don and Leo cleaned up the kitchen. The rest of the day I was overwhelmed by cuddles and hugs" I say, faking a grimace but Mikey smiled silently before he coughs slightly again.

"But you loved them" A sudden voice said out of the blue, the only warning I had before arms wrapped around me, I yelp, twisting before looking at the dark brown eyes of my little brother.

"Dork" I snort, pushing Donnie away with my free hand.

"You love me" Don snickers in Japanese and Mikey uncomfortably untangles himself from our hug, shuffling to the side of the couch slightly. Don seems to notice and looks at me for a moment, realisation and regret clearly in his eyes.

Slowly he reaches out for the boy, putting a hand on his shoulder, Mikey flinches harshly but doesn't pull away. Before Don could say something however, the doorbell rang. I frown, but secretly grateful for the interruption and I stand up. I give Don a small glance before I walk to the hall.

I shiver slightly at the change of atmosphere but I walk over to the door, unlocking it and opening it. I frown however when no one was to be seen.

"Hello?" I question hesitantly but the only answer was a package that was in front of the door. 'For Mikey' Was written on the little note. I frown, picking it up and closing the door again after inspecting the hall one last time.

"Mikey?" I call out hesitantly, putting the door on a lock again before walking into the living room again. Mikey was carefully standing up, swaying on his feet and face as pale as if he'd seen a ghost, sweat still on his forehead. He eyes at me warily, and then at the package I was holding.

"What's…." He starts but trails off. We meet up halfway in the living room, all three of us stopping.

"I don't know, someone left it" I frown, shaking my head and Don walks up to me, taking the package from me and shaking it gently.

"It's light" He states and carefully lowers it, reaching for the lid. Mikey shuffles a bit closer to me, staring at the box with the blanket still tightly wrapped around him. Then slowly Don opens the box…

.. and the next moment Mikey had turned around, doubling over as his stomach retracts and forces up all the bile that was present in his body. Vomit covered the ground and with trembling knees he falls to the ground, retching once more as he has fallen in his own bile. Neither of us were fast enough to stop him, prevent him from falling.

And we were still shocked, confused as to why he reacted this badly to the content of the box.

As I sat there on my knees, arms wrapped tightly around my baby brother while he cried hysterically with snot and bile covering him, I looked at my immediate younger brother who was still looking at the box in astonishment.

Hay on the bottom of the box and a blood-covered, dead mouse on top of it.


	10. Chapter 10

Shocked; that was the first and only word that actually came to mind.

I was shocked, watching Mikey crumble to the ground, helpless. We weren't fast enough to help him, and now that showed, snot and bile all over his pants and shirt; but I didn't care. I kept my arms tightly locked around him, trying to offer him some kind of support; support he clearly needed.

"Raph?" Don asks uncertain, not daring to move, box still in his hand.

"Get it to ta kitchen and call dad and Leo" I snap suddenly, now with Leo gone I was the oldest brother, and I'll be damned if I fucked this up right now. Don seems surprised for a moment before he nods, hurrying away with the box and the dead mouse that was inside of it.

And I still had no idea what it meant.

"Mikey!" I bark, shaking him slightly and releasing the hug. "Listen to me, it's gonna be 'kay" I insist but Mikey shakes his head, bursting out in tears once again. I couldn't even blame him, whatever that box meant, whatever that mouse meant, it was bad. It meant something to him, something personal.

"Mikey!" I try again, taking hold of his face and forcing him to look at me. Terrified eyes focus on me, tears continuously streaming down his face, but it seemed to calm him down. "Let's get ya cleaned up" I continue, slowly and carefully standing up to avoid scaring him. He complies, allowing me to haul him up.

Neither of us say anything, and I silently listen to Don's frantic voice coming from behind me.

I don't even bother going up the stairs, instead going straight to dad's room. I drag Mikey into the bathroom, immediately turning on the shower.

I hesitate for a couple of seconds but Mikey seems unresponsive to anything. Tears not streaming down his face anymore but still lingering in his eyes, and an awful smell resonating through the room. I grimace, walking up to him and putting a hand on his shoulder, shaking him a bit. Still; no response.

"'m sorry" I mumble as an apology before reaching for his shirt, and helping him out of the fabric. Still he doesn't respond or move at all. I wince slightly as I reach for his belt, reminding myself over and over again that it isn't weird for siblings to see each other without clothes, or that I was helping Mikey; nothing more and nothing less.

Still, I was grateful when his arm suddenly moved, stopping me. He looks at me, tears brimming in his eyes.

"N-no… you..." he stops himself, eyes flickering to the door. My eyes fall and I immediately take a step back with my hands raised in the air to show him I wasn't going to do anything.

"I wouldn't Mik-"

"I know, I j-just…" Again he stops before finishing the sentence but I know what he's trying to say, and I know he wants me to leave.

"I will get ya some clean clothes, there are towers in the cabinet" I tell him, pointing at the cabinet next to the toilet. Mikey nods absently, gazing at the floor until the point I leave the room, closing the door. I kept standing there for a few moments, only moving when the door clicked shut; locked.

I squeeze my eyes in frustration, growling low in my throat before turning away, walking out of dad's room and into the living room.

"Ya called?" I ask Don and my immediate younger brother turns around, his eyes red and filled with tears. "Don" I mumble, walking over to him but keeping myself from hugging him as my shirt was still covered with vomit.

"Dad's on his way but he's still 2 hours away, Leo will be here soon" Don mumbles, and I squeeze his shoulder.

"We will get through this little bro" I tell him sternly, leaving no room for objections. "We don't know if they're still out there or who's after 'im in the first place. Make sure all the windows are closed and lock the door. Don't open it unless you're sure it's dad or Leo. Kay?" I ask him and he nods, making the first move as he walks past me, hurrying over to the door.

I feel reluctant leaving him alone right now, even if it's just for a few minutes. But this was serious, whoever did this wasn't joking around. He wanted something, and it had something to do with Mikey.

I hurried upstairs, walking over to Mikey's room and pulling out the first pair of clothes I could find from his closet, a simple pair of sweatpants and a simple black shirt. I look down grimacing at my own clothes and I quickly walk over to my own room, changing into sweatpants as well. I could shower later.

Mikey was more important right now.

TMNT

I carefully knock on the door, frowning as there was no response. I wait a couple of seconds, knocking again but this time a little louder. Water was still flowing in the bathroom but nothing indicated that Mikey was still in the room.

"Mikey?" I call out, checking the door, but it was still locked. So Mikey still had to be in the bathroom. "Mikey I'm coming in" I announce, waiting a few more seconds before twisting the lock from the outside and unlocking it. I wait again, hoping that Mikey would say something but he didn't so I softly pushed open the door.

My face falls at the sight in front of me. Mikey was sitting on the ground, knees drawn to his chest and staring ahead of him with wide terrified eyes, water still falling on top of him. Steam was surrounding the whole room and his eyes were glassy and red. I slowly walk over to the shower, turning off the water.

"Mikey" I call out again but he doesn't respond, so I walk over to the cabinet and grab a towel, wrapping it around him. A shiver wracks through his body and he looks up to me, his eyes still not fully focusing on me but at least he was paying attention. Then slowly he looks down, noticing the towel wrapped around his wet body.

I look him in the eye and he nods slowly, silently telling me it's okay to leave. I smile slightly, squeezing his shoulder before standing up, leaving the clothes I brought him behind and leaving the room again.

"Raph!" I stumbled backwards slightly as two strong arms suddenly wrapped around me, giving me a quick hug before untangling himself again.

"Hey Leo" I mumble, relieved to see my older brother safe at home. "When did ya get here?"

"Just now, Don let me in." Leo tell me, and I gaze at my immediate younger brother for a second, who was sitting on one of the chairs at the table, his hands around a cup of tea. "Where's Mikey?" Leo asks almost hesitantly and I look back at Leo again.

"Showering.. should be done any minute" I tell him, deliberately leaving out the fact that he had been unresponsive in the shower for 15 minutes or so. But from the look on Leo's face I could see that he was suspecting something more. Still, he didn't comment on it.

"What exactly happened?" Leo continued, walking over to the table and sitting down next to Don, while I sat down on the opposite side of Donnie.

"They found me" A quiet voice says, causing the three of us to look at the figure that was standing in the living room, his back to dad's room, and his hair still wet from the shower. Leo didn't verbally react but quickly stood up, walking over to Mikey and pulling him in a quick but tight hug.

Mikey allowed him but he didn't return the hug, after a few seconds Leo released the hug and they both walked to the table, Mikey a bit reluctant. He sat down next to Raph, folding his arms over each other and clearly uncomfortable.

"What do you mean 'they found you'?" Leo asks in a quiet voice and I eye at him with a frown. And it took me a few seconds to understand what he was doing, of course he knew what Mikey meant, the one who forced him into that brothel found him; and that ultimately wasn't the question he wanted answered.

He wanted Mikey to talk; tell them the information that they were missing.

How he ended up there; what the mouse meant; why he spent months without his parents. Every single piece of information that would help us understand and heal Mikey.

"I owe them" Mikey whispers after a moment of silence. "I couldn't pay t-them back because I-I had no money so…" He trails off, but we know what he was going to say. Staying in that brothel, working for them, was paying them back. Money he somehow borrowed from them in the first place.

"Why would you have to pay them back?" Leo asks, again his voice low to avoid freaking him out.

Mikey takes a shuddering breath, looking down at his hands and not speaking for a few minutes. Leo gently reaches across the table, placing his hand on top of Mikey's. The latter flinches but doesn't pull away, locking eyes with his oldest brother, tears gathering in his eyes.

"My p-parents" Mikey eventually clarifies, taking another shuddering breath, looking at me. "My mom got sick when I was nine" He whispers, trying to keep the waver out of his voice. I nod, already knowing this, but encouraging him to continue the tale. Because we all wanted to know what happened.

"We weren't rich y'know, we couldn't afford treatment. But my dad wouldn't accept that.." He stops himself, taking another breath and Leo squeezes his hand to encourage him.

"He borrowed the money from the people working at the brothel" Donnie conducts and Mikey looks at him, a single tear rolling down his cheek.

"Someone who knew the brothel….M-mom was treated for 5 months until…." Again he stops, tears now streaming down his face and he starts to tremble. "She stayed at the hospital for a few days a-and… she could go home on my b-birthday…"

I wrap my arms around him, bringing him closer because I already knew what he was going to say next.

"They g-got hit b-by a c-car…" Mikey hiccups, burying his face in my chest while tears streamed down his face, wetting my shirt.

And they died.

TMNT

"I'm sorry" Mikey mumbles softly, drying his tears with his palm, untangling himself from the hug. I shake my head.

"Don't be, it's not yer fault" I tell him sternly. "Do ya .. want to continue?" I ask him hesitantly and the blond slowly nods, taking a deep breath.

"I was sent to an orphanage after that but.. the man wanted his money back, so he came after me.." He casts his head aside, a scowl on his face and my face falls as I realise what he was doing, trying to pretend like it didn't matter, that it wasn't bad. But I didn't comment on it, allowing him to take his time.

We all stay silent for a moment, patiently waiting. "I don't know how they did it exactly... " He starts, wrapping his arms around himself tightly. "B-but suddenly they didn't have any room for me anymore.. so they kicked m-me out."

From the corner of my eyes I could see Don had tears streaming down his face while Leo's eyes were brimming with them. I slowly reach out, putting a hand on his shoulder but the blond shrugs it off, averting his gaze and looking away from me. I immediately recoil, bringing my hand to my chest.

"What happened afterwards?" Leo quietly asks, refraining himself from reaching out.

Slowly Mikey looks at him, only focusing on Leo. "I-it was winter.. I couldn't find a-any shelter and that when… two guys 'found' me" Mikey scowls again, but there was regret in his eyes, mentally beating himself up. "They offered me a warm home.. I followed them."

He closed his eyes, averting his gaze away from us in shame, trembling on the spot.

"And when they took you in, and you realised what is actually was.. " Donnie starts with a low voice, and Mikey glances at him, tears gathering in his eyes. "It was already too late"

I frown, remembering the conversation me and Mikey had that one day. That they had him locked up on the first few days, to get him to cooperate. The rest knew that that happened to Mikey, and Mikey knew that they knew in return. But now the revelation only seemed worse, being kicked out of house after losing your family, in the middle of the winter

And then people offering you a home, get you out of the cold and you end up being locked away with the premonition of working in a brothel if he calmed down enough.

"Mikey, can I ask you something?" Leo suddenly asks, keeping his voice soft and low. Like he used to do when he talked to me. The blond looks up shyly, tears now once again leaking down his face and his eyes red from the tears. And Leo waits patiently for Mikey to answer, knowing that persisting won't work.

But he doesn't verbally or visibly answer, only looks at Leo with fear and uncertainty. But doesn't complain.

"What does the mouse mean?" So he just asks, his eyes trained on Mikey in anticipation and slight fear.

The mouse..., Don probably showed him when he got home and I was with Mikey. The mouse someone sent to Mikey which obviously held some meaning. Some kind of warning. Mikey swallows visibly, casting his eyes downwards for just a moment, facing Leo again after a few seconds of hesitation.

"It was my name" He states, his voice surprisingly steady. ".. Said I needed a stage name.. and they misspelled my name as Mickey… like Mickey Mouse.. So they called me little mouse"

A silence ensues until Mikey suddenly directs his gaze back to me.

"Are they going to take me again?" He asks, his voice so incredibly small and vulnerable.

"They-.."

"I don't want to.. please don't make me" Mikey murmurs, completely cutting me off. He whimpers suddenly, burying his face in his hands. "Please don't make me… no.." He whimpers, starting to tremble again and sobs wrack through his system.

"Mikey" I say sternly but it doesn't help, obvious to the world around him, sobbing soundly. So I reach forwards, wrapping my arms tightly around him, bringing him closer but it only causes him to cry harder, hysteric sobs against me. I press him tighter against me, muffling his sobs.

"Listen little brother, as long as I'm here to protect you no one will hurt you." I state sternly, rubbing his back soothingly. "Nobody is going to hurt you, I won't allow it. As long as I'm standing nobody will hurt you" I continue to tell him, shushing him.

I rub his back, keeping him close to me. Like Leo did with me, ignoring my complaints and cries of fear as he hugged me, I did the same. But Mikey was just silently enduring it, but I knew he wanted me to release him. Shaking and crying in my hold and so tense that I thought his muscles would snap if he continued like this.

But I never let him go, knowing that it would, hopefully, calm him down.

I look up for a second, Leo's sea blue eyes catching mine and I know he's thinking the same thing. That I was just like him just five years ago. And that my older brother did the exact same thing to me, and that it helped me in the end.

There was only one difference however; he was still in danger while my 'parents' were put in jail, where dad eventually got killed because even criminals didn't support hurting children. His captors were still hunting him, wanting him back, while I was safe from them.

TMNT

"Did he receive the package?" A stern voice asks, narrowing his eyes as he impatiently waits for the answer.

"He didn't open the door, it was his brother" The man says with a satisfied smug, casting a look at the man that was standing next to him. Dirty blond hair which was messily on top of his head, and he wore an old jacket and simple jeans. The man just raises his eyebrows, unimpressed at the bragging.

"He better have gotten it" The first voice says, standing up from behind his desk and walking over to the second man.

"I assure you sir, he lives with them, have been for the last 9 weeks." The man speaks up.

"You better be right Zucco" Again he narrows his eyes, not pleased with the uncertainty. Next to him the blond man snickers and both Zucco and the other man look at him, one angry and the other one pissed at the snicker.

"What's so funny?" Zucco deadpans, looking the blond man straight in the eyes. "You still need to approach the brother"

"I will, don't you worry about Raphael" The blond waves off and Zucco rolls his eyes.

"He's had five years-"

"That's enough" The louder voice shushes them both, and both Zucco and the blond man look at the tall man standing in front of them. "Raphael has had years to recover but he has not seen you in years, he will still be afraid of you" He states, causing the blond guy to smirk at Zucco.

"However you must not underestimate him, and neither should you underestimate the rest of his sons. They will pose a threat" He says, frowning as he walks back to the desk, staring out of the window. "I will deal with my brother"

"Yes Saki" Zucco and the blond guys say simultaneously, silently exiting the room, leaving the first voice alone. He narrowed his eyes, glaring at the rain falling down and he spoke again, to no one in particular.

"I will come for you, I will cause you just as much pain as you've caused me…. Hamato Yoshi"


	11. Chapter 11

It had been a whole week already, and still I couldn't shake off all the things Mikey had told me, how he had cried his heart out afterwards. But most importantly the realisation what he had gone through at such a young age, how his life had been thrown upside down. I could see that it affected the rest. Don, Leo, dad…

But even they had seen that it affected me more, at least that's what they told me.

I could relate it back to my own experiences before I came to live here. I didn't know what to believe anymore. How could I possibly compare my own experience to his? The family he grew up with, the family he loved, got murdered before he was sent to an orphanage, where the money problems of his parents eventually cost him.

It was his parents' mistake that ended him up at that place; the brothel. Where basically got raped multiple times a day for little to no money, and no freedom.

I sigh, turning around in bed again so I was facing the block that was on my desk. It was already far past midnight, almost 2. And I couldn't sleep. I groan, droppin my arm over my eyes.

"Can't sleep either?" A soft voice whispers and I sit upright in my bed, looking sideways to the door. Mikey was standing in the door opening. When had he opened the door? He was wearing his PJ's and his blond hair was tousled, and his cheeks were stained with tears. A sign that he had been crying.. again.

"You had a nightmare?" I whisper, cautious to avoid waking the others up. Mikey nods slowly and I sigh, lifting my blanket as an invitation. He hesitates for a moment before closing the door behind him, walking over to my bed. I can see his hands shaking as he crawls onto the bed.

"Are ya okay with this?" I ask cautiously and he bites his lip slightly, sitting on his knees and facing me. I sigh in understanding, scooting a bit to the side. He flashes me a grateful look as he lays down in my bed.

"I don't know" Mikey admits honestly and I turn to my side.

"You wanna talk about your nightmare?" I ask him as he cautiously watches me, and most importantly my hands. I sigh softly, putting my hands under my head, which seems to put him at ease slightly.

"It was my first week" He mumbles and I frown slightly.

"Where?"

This time Mikey hesitates a short while. "The brothel" He shudders and curls up into the blankets, facing me as well, laying on his side in a fetal position.

"Ya don't hafta talk about it" I whisper softly, watching him closely as he stays still. His bright blue eyes looked at me with hesitation, and tear streaks were still visible on his cheeks, illuminated by the moon that shone directly through the window behind me. The only light source in the room right now.

And his hands were carefully folded in between the blankets.

"The first two days they locked me up with no food and barely any water. When they let me out I couldn't get any food unless I… " Mikey stopped, shuddering at the memory and fresh tears appeared. "I allowed him to… I was so hungry and scared… " He didn't need to speak up for me to understand what had happened to him.

They starved him, put him in a room for two days, and they would only give him food if he would… essentially be raped by his boss. It was disgusting, and I could feel tears clog my throat. I watch him closely, green eyes watching his blue ones. Blue eyes that were once undoubtedly full of joy. Because we're all positive that he had been.

Full of joy and laughter without a care in the world. Before his parents were killed and he was forced into one of the worst businesses imaginable.

It showed sometimes. It seemed weird but in the last week especially, after he told us more about the brothel. He seemed to laugh a bit more, smile a bit more. And he was less defensive. The armour he had build up over the last five years, the angry and hotheaded Mikey slowly started to cripple away.

"Was yer nightmare about those days?" I eventually ask him and he nods.

"I… I'm scared Raph…" he admits shyly. "I never had that dream here before but after the mouse… I don't wanna go back" My heart seems to shatter in a million pieces at the statement. He was so scared of the prospect of going back to that place. But I would never let them.

I slowly unwind my hands from under my head, carefully reaching out for his. He doesn't recoil as I wrap my hands around his, only looks directly at me.

"Yet not going back" I state, squeezing his hands. "Remember what I said? As long as I'm left standing-" I stop.

"You will protect me" Mikey finishes softly and I grin.

"Darn right I will"

We lay in silence for awhile and the next thing I know is the sun peeking over the horizon, letting me know that it's close to morning. And the next thing I realised was Mikey curled up against my chest, burying himself deep in the covers and completely hiding his face.

But the only thing that mattered was that he clung to me like I was fully capable of protecting him from everything out there.

TMNT

It was such a small thing but the grin we were rewarded with was worth millions. No money in the world couldn't buy this moment of joy.

"Dudes.. a christmas tree?" His voice, however soft, sounded so excited and joyful. I grin as well, wrapping an arm around his shoulders. He winced at the force behind it but he continuously grinned up to me.

"Of course, that's the whole point of Christmas right?"

Don looks at me, blindly helping Leo set the tree upright. "Well not entirely-" He starts but shakes his head with a content smile. I eventually sat down next to Don, and both watched as Mikey and Leo decorated the tree with different colours of balls, strings, and eventually the tree topper.

And I swear I've never seen the bonehead continuously smile more in the last 2 months than now. And for now, we let him have his fun, the three of us cherished his genuine smile because we had no idea how long it'd last. And the fact that he was smiling in the first place surprised us as well.

With the amount of pressure he had been under lately.

Not to mention the last 5 years in the brother, moving in with us, the nightmares, the realisation that he had a family, and his first family lied to him. On top of that; the box with the mouse, the promise that the ones putting him in that brothel were still free and after him.

So we bathed in the cheerful smile on his face, as long as it would last.

It was ours later that we found ourselves in a similar situation, eating dinner, the smile having disappeared from his face.

"Michelangelo" Dad addressed him and Mikey actually stiffened at the mention of his name. He looked sideways, where dad sat at the end of the table. I frowned slightly, putting my utensils down and watching Mikey intensely. I was sitting the closest to Dad, Mikey next me and Leo straight across me, Don sitting across Mikey.

I knew what they were going to discuss.

"Your therapist and Aileen were thinking that it would be a good idea for you to start school after the holiday" Dad says with a soft voice. Aileen, the doctor that had treated him back when he was just rescued, Aileen, the girl who Mikey was comfortable was because she was young, and a girl.

Mikey is quiet for a second, casting his head down to his plate and frowning. "I.. I don't know if I'm ready yet"

"My son" Dad addresses him, voice still gentle, and Mikey looks up. "Raphael has gone through the same situation where he was not sure about school, or social interaction" For a second he looks at me with a comforting smile and I shrug uncomfortable. I had no intention of relieving that memory again.

"The teachers will be notified and you will be following the same classes as at least one of your brothers" At the mention of teachers his face paled and I carefully reached out but he took his own hand away, looking at me and nodding slightly, telling me it was okay.

"I don't w-want them to know" Dad frowns at the statement and I knew what he was thinking, because I had voiced those concerns as well 5 years ago.

"The teachers will keep it a secret, and will not know the full story unless you want them to. Also, they kept Raphael's past a secret. The only students to know about his past are his friends, the ones he told" As predicted, Mikey calmed down slightly at the mention of it staying a secret.

I was right about the students, he didn't want them to know because even he knew how cruel high school could be sometimes. It weren't necessarily the teachers he was worried about, they would respect it and not talk about it, but students, bullies to be exact, wouldn't.

"Okay" Mikey whispers, yet confident in his words. "I will do it"

TMNT

It was the fourth consecutive night that I discovered Mikey either silently crawling into my bed or accidently wake me up while trying to do so. I didn't comment on it the days after, and Mikey seemed to be just fine with it, always ending up snuggled against my side and gone the moment I woke up.

Not this day, definitely not this day. I knew that he was awake and yet he was still here.

"Any particular reason for stayin'?" I ask and Mikey shyly looks up.

"It's Christmas" He whispers and I actually grin at the comment.

"Ya want me to get out of bed?" At the comment Mikey actually looks away, suddenly ashamed of his antics. "And here I thought Don was the annoying little brother" I stated and threw off the blankets, crawling to the end of the bed since Mikey was laying in between me and the side of the bed.

I rub my hand over my face, yawning before turning back to Mikey, who was still quiet on the bed. And here I thought Don was the annoying little brother. I curse inwards and walk over to the bed again, Mikey looks up with shy eyes and I just hold a hand out for him to grab, which he hesitantly does.

I pull him upwards until he's standing in front of me. "Don't doubt yourself bonehead" I whisper, almost pulling him along as I exited my room. I knew how excited he was for Christmas, I knew how happy he had been the last few days when the decorations have been put up, and we told him what we'd do on Christmas.

Nothing special; and yet it made him smile.

We spent that morning unpacking the presents dad had put under the Christmas tree for us, and the ones we had put under the tree for dad. And we felt like a family, a normal family for once. It was normal that Mikey was besides us, laughing and beaming as he was allowed to open his presents.

To any other it would look like a normal family.

We could see the small hints of abuse that lingered. How he looked at us before opening a present, waiting for someone to stop him because he wasn't doing it right, or wasn't allowed to. The flinches when a loud noise bellowed through the room or when someone accidentally and unexpectedly touched him.

But the smile was genuine, and that was all that mattered right now.

As the day went on Mikey started to get more quiet, and I found myself growing more anxious as well. Christmas was a time of celebrating family after all, or that's how we always celebrated it. Even if mom was murdered when I was too young to remember her, we.. dad and the guys never broke contact with her family.

It was around half past 2 that the doorbell rang, and Mikey visibly shrank into the couch. I glance at Leo and he nods, walking over to Mikey. I wasn't fit to comfort him right now as I felt myself growing more anxious with every step dad took towards the door. And I didn't even know why.

It drove me crazy but for some goddamn reason I just grew anxious at these moments, visits, people who saw me when I just came to live here. Because they reminded me of that time with my previous 'parents', or how out of place I had felt when I just came to live here.

"Yoshi!" A woman suddenly exclaimed, no doubt hugging her brother in law.

"Miyuki, it is good to see you again" Dad greeted politely.

"I know, it's been like what? 5 months since we last saw each other?" Tang Miyuki was mom's older sister, and she and Yoshi had been very close before and after mom's death. Miyuki was very open and very talkative and dad always seemed at ease around her, they were like siblings.

"Where is Eiichi?" Dad asked and I frowned. Eiichi was Miyuki's son, but it was strange that he wasn't here. It was silent before a lower voice from Miyuki replied.

"He's with his father, I thought it would be wise not to bring him, so I wouldn't overwhelm him" I glance at Mikey, and by the way he shifts uncomfortably I know he knows that Miyuki was talking about him, that Eiichi's presence would overwhelm Mikey.

"That was very thoughtful of you Miyuki but I believe it will be alright if he were to come join us for dinner." Yoshi answered and I glanced at Mikey, who was now snuggled against Leo's side, the latter having an arm slung around the blond, although it was already getting really dark as he hadn't bleached it for over two months.

I look up as footsteps suddenly started from the hall and suddenly Miyuki appeared in the living room.

"Aunt Miyuki" Leo greeted with a smile, walking over to her and Miyuki immediately wraps her arms around him.

"Hey hero" She smiled, before walking over to Don and wrapping her arms around him as well. Aunt Miyuki had been our mother figure after mom died. At least, she had been to Don and Leo growing up. They were closer than I could even be to her.

"Raph" She smiled, wrapping her arms around me as well.

I smiled slightly in the hug. We were close, no reason to not admit that but there would always be that barrier of not having grown up with her. Miyuki has cuddled with the guys, nursed them, gave them advice, and visited numerous times when they were small kids. She took over the role of my mom when I got here. But it was still different.

Just like my relationship with dad was different. There was some kind of barrier between us, a barrier that wasn't between him and Leo and Don. Because they'd all grown up with each other.

Didn't mean I didn't love Miyuki, she was the closest mother figure I ever had.

"You must be Mikey" Miyuki smiled, but instead of hugging him she placed a hand on his shoulder, giving him a big smile. Mikey visibly relaxes as the basically stranger to him doesn't wrap her arms around him.

"It's nice to meet you" Mikey greets politely but Miyuki just laughs gently, waving her hand.

"No need to be politically correct" Mikey frowns at the statements and Don leans in.

"She means you don't have to pretend that you're pleased to meet her, which you're clearly not" There's a joking undertone in his voice as he jabs the tense muscle in Mikey's back with a smile. Mikey absently slaps his hand away but just gapes at Miyuki.

"I didn't mean it like that… I'm sorry" he whispers but Miyuki just smiled.

"Don't worry about that Mikey, I've worked with many similar to your case and one thing I always saw was that a genuine bond was harder to create if you pretend to trust and like someone from the start." She tells him and I smirk as she once again hits the nail right onto the head.

I loved how direct Miyuki always was.

"Raph didn't like me at first, and that wasn't cause I told him not to force himself, he was just a stubborn ass, but he opened up to me at his own pace. When he was comfortable."

"I blew off everyone that tried to help me" Mikey says, looking around the room with shame written on his face. I'm actually surprised he told this to Miyuki, who was practically a stranger to him.

"And that's better than pretending trust. Look around you, they're still here, your dad is still here. And I'm here as well. Which means that you weren't too terrible"

"Oh he was a pain in the ass" I smirk, and for a second I think I've said something wrong. So this is what Don and Leo had gone through, this is what they meant when they said it was hard having me around at first.

It weren't the first few weeks where I was only moody and freaking out every time someone spoke or touched me because I wasn't used to gentle touches, gentle voices, but the weeks between that and being who I am now. Where you are more comfortable with your little brother, and joke around more.

But at the same time; you're afraid to say something wrong and upset him.

But instead of being upset, Mikey smirks weakly, sticking out his tongue towards me. Then he turns to Miyuki.

"Thanks" He whispers.

The rest of the day wasn't as awkward as I thought it was going to be. We talked, played games and true to Miyuki's request, Mikey didn't pretend. He eventually squeezed himself in between me and Leo, leaning heavily against me and me wrapping an arm around him.

We even played some games, but Mikey declined when we asked him if he wanted to join.

Miyuki immediately continued the cheerful conversation and Mikey seemed to relax as the focus was turned away from him, and he didn't seem too out of place by not participating. As dinner time neared, and Eiichi would be arriving soon, Miyuki decided that it was time to start cooking dinner.

I gleamed at the thought, Miyuki was an amazing cook. And while dad knew the basics, he certainly wasn't the best cook.

"Can I help?" Miyuki stopped walking as she heard the request, turning back to Mikey, he seemed to shrink into my side at the stares he was getting. "I always helped mom with dinner" He spoke up and Miyuki beamed.

"Of course honey, as long as you're not as bad at cooking as Leo is" At this Mikey actually grinned, knowing the stories about Leo's cooking abilities.

"I'm not that bad" Leo mumbles, faking annoyance but I snort, whacking him upside the head.

"You cooked a candle along with the pasta" I snorted. "Not to mention the fact that you ruined the toaster, twice" Mikey stayed silent, a smile on his face at the bantering between Leo and I, before he carefully untangled himself from my touch, I squeezed his hand as an encouragement and he flashed me a grateful look.

Before he followed Miyuki into the kitchen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Real talk, that cooking disaster Raph mentioned actually happened to us. My sister was cooking Pasta once, and when she took the lid off the pan to check on the pasta she placed it over a candle. Because of the heat it stuck to the lid and when she placed it back on the pan, the candle dropped into the water with pasta. She didn't notice until she took the lid off again after a few minutes xD
> 
> Hope you enjoyed the chapter, I wanted to have some genuine family moments, before all hell breaks loose ^^


	12. Chapter 12

Eiichi had come around dinner time, while Miyuki and Mikey were making food in the kitchen. I smile at the sight of my cousin, he hadn't grown any taller and yet he seemed to have changed so much in these short 5 months. But that was also because he was already off to college.

"Hey Eiichi" I greet him and he looks at me with a sly smile on his face, never the one to be too excessive about his emotions.

"Hey Leo" He fist bumped me before greeting both Don and Raph.

"Where's mom?" He asks and Raph points at the kitchen with a silent gesture, to which Eiichi nodded. That's why I preferred having Eiichi over than any other cousin we had, not like we had many, but Eiichi was like a brother to us. And walking away in our house without saying anything wasn't weird to do.

It was his home as well in a sense, and we treated him like a brother.

"Mom?" Eiichi called out and walked over to the kitchen. I follow him to the kitchen, both to see how Mikey was doing, and how our dinner was doing. Because admittedly I was getting hungry from all the waiting and the smell that was originating from the kitchen made my mouth water.

"Hey sweetie" Miyuki greets her son, planting a kiss on his cheek.

"Hey mom" I smile at his greeting, just like our little family, they had no problem with sharing emotion. It wasn't common in a lot of families, Casey's family did love each other but showing it this openly wasn't usual. Which was weird when I first witnessed it, and it was weird for him when he witnessed our home.

"And you're Mikey right?" He asks and I narrow my eyes slightly, staring at the blond and waiting for the reaction of my little brother.

Mikey significantly stiffens at the mention of his name but gives Eiichi a small smile in return, ready to move to greet Eiichi properly but Eiichi stops him.

"Don't bother, don't want to get food on my shirt. Nice to meet you" Eiichi grins, gesturing to the food on Mikey's hands. The blond nods, but doesn't say anything. And like I expected, Eiichi doesn't seem to mind, just like Miyuki he knows about Mikey. He may not work with children like Mikey, like Miyuki does, but he has heard stories.

And he knows from Miyuki that she preferred the method of not pretending to like someone.

"You're just in time to set the table for me, dinner's almost ready" Eiichi rolls his eyes with a smile at his mom's smug expression but does move towards the cupboards to get the plates and placemats.

"So how you've been?" Eiichi asks, the question directed towards me. I shrug slightly.

"School mostly, I've been tutoring someone in my class"

"Is it a girl?" Eiichi grins, looking at me with a big stupid grin on his face and I scowl in return.

"Raph" I mutter and Eiichi snickers. "But yea, she's a girl, who's a friend"

"So you would say she's a girl friend?" I narrow my eyes in fake suspicion and Eiichi just laughs at my expression. "You're actually scary when you're doing that, it's cute"

I raise an eyebrow at his argument but don't comment on it, a comfortable silence falling upon us before we talked again, asking each other about the last 5 months, what we've both been up to. We didn't touch the subject of Mikey, not yet, it was better not to mention him when he was around.

But we would definitely be talking later on, he wanted to know about him just as much as he wanted to hear about Raph 5 years ago.

TMNT

"Hey if you're done you can go if you want" I whisper quietly, leaning over to my littlest brother with concern. He looks at me, blue eyes shining with conflict. He stares at me with confusion, uncertainty, he wanted to go, but he couldn't.

I smile gently. "Go, we're almost done here either way and you can come down if you want to once we play some games and watch a movie" I encourage him and Mikey nods slowly, looking over at the table before silently standing up.

Really, only dad and Raph noticed that he stood up, or visibly reacted to it. Raph glanced sideways while talking to Eiichi and dad looked at Mikey with confusion before looking at me. I gave him a slight nod, and Dad gave one to his youngest son, who silently walked up the stairs.

Leaving us while eating dinner.

But it was for the best, he wasn't comfortable being here with two people he didn't know, just like Raph wasn't comfortable. And we were lucky that Miyuki was a woman, and Eiichi was young enough to be considered a boy from his point of view… from the brothel's point of view.

I wince at the thought but luckily nobody saw.

It was disgusting to think about Mikey accepting them more because no woman had hurt him, no boy had hurt him. Only grown men had paid him, paid the brothel. I shook my head, willing myself not to think about that right now.

Dad and Miyuki offered to clean the kitchen and I knew why, they wanted to talk about Mikey. Not just his disappearance from the dinner today, but everything in general. I glance over at the kitchen until Don plops down on the couch next to me.

"Raph and Eiichi are outside" Don says and I nod with a sigh, putting an arm around him and pulling my second youngest brother closer to me. He complies, placing his head against my shoulder and snuggling close to me.

I didn't say anything, neither of us did. It was weird, experiencing a Christmas like this again, uptight and awkward. We wouldn't've traded it for anything, we wouldn't've given Mikey up for anything, but it was weird to experience this again, and not pleasant at all, the happy Christmas wasn't as happy as it used to be.

But I just hoped it was all worth it in the end.

TMNT

"How much do you know?" I ask, mumble almost, leaning backwards slightly and gazing at the park in front of me, Eiichi and I currently sitting on the same hill I had been sitting with Mikey weeks ago. The only difference being the fact that there were no happy children playing in the leaves anymore.

The grass covered in snow and our bodies covered with thick coats.

"Mom told me what she knew but it was all vague. And nothing about his experience being with you" Eiichi says and I nod absently. "I know that he was in a brothel… I can't even imagine.." he stops himself, shaking his head.

"Me neither, I've been beaten for 10 years, but he has been through worse in just half the time. He hasn't acknowledged it himself but he was raped almost every day over there Eiichi, that broke him"

"And he was really forced to.. serve all those people?" Eiichi asks and I close my eyes for a second.

"Men, he rarely served women. Those sick bastards choose Mikey because he was the youngest, the only boy over there." I bail my fists but Eiichi stays calm. I know better though, I know he's conflicted but unlike me, he knows how to hide it. He had learned to control his emotions.

"And STD's?" He asks, looking at me but I don't acknowledge him, merely shake my head.

"They didn't want that, he would be worth less or something"

"That's messed up" Eiichi mumbles, shaking his head. "How has he been at home?" I sigh again, this time looking at my older cousin.

"Scared, withdrawn. He doesn't, can't, take initiative and he's constantly checking if he's allowed to do something." I lower my head again. "The nightmares are the worst" I mumble and I could feel Eiichi looking at me.

"That must be messed up" I know what he's referring to, because he knows about the fact that I used to have them as well, saw one of my outbursts as well so that just added to the weirdness. I nod numbly, looking down.

"He comes to me when he gets the nightmares, they've been getting worse too I think."

Eiichi frowns at my wording. "You think?"

I shrug at the question. "He told us about how he ended up in the brothel, Miyuki told you right?" I ask and Eiichi nods, and I was grateful that he knew that accident with the mouse. "He's been approaching me much more lately, entering my room in the middle of the night when he has a nightmare"

"But you don't think it's because he has more nightmares?" Eiichi asks and I shrug again.

"I really don't know, it could be, but Leo said that it could also be Mikey opening up to us, and being more willing to admit having nightmares" I tell him, looking at him briefly. "It's how the guys found out about my nightmares back in the day, so it could be that he's opening up"

Eiichi nods absently, staring ahead of him. But before either of us could say anything else my phone rang.

I frown, looking at the display. Leo. Why would he be calling? I click on the answer button, pressing the phone to my ear.

"RAPH come home quickly! Mikey's having a panic attack!" Was the first thing that I heard.

TMNT

"Where?!" I almost yell, my chest heaving.

"Upstairs" Don speaks quickly, tears gathering in his eyes. I turn towards the stairs, not acknowledging Miyuki coming up to Don and wrapping her arms around him. I only ran upstairs, not looking back at Eiichi, or anyone. Not focused on Dad standing outside Mikey's room with a pained face.

Leo was kneeling in front of Mikey's body, curled up and crying, shaking, heaving. His back was in the corner of his bed and the wall. His head between his hands and clawing at his hair. Leo was with him, trying to assure him but nothing worked.

"Leo" I say, my voice calmer, forcing to be calmer. He looks at me, not saying anything but he doesn't have to. He nods, standing up and aside. I walk up to Mikey, kneeling down in front of him. "Can you open a window?" I ask and Leo nods, I turn back to Mikey, reaching out for his hand.

His head snaps up, red eyes looking at me warily. He winces violently, jerking away from me. But I don't let his hand go.

"What is wrong?" I ask, looking at him. His eyes widen slightly and he jerks his hand out of my grasp before I can prevent him from doing so. His other hand claws at his bed, while the one he just freed goes to his chest, scratching violently at the fabric covering his body.

"Ca-.. brea-.. th" He gasps, sweat trickling down his forehead. I nod slightly.

"Yer having a panic attack" I tell him gently, keeping my sentences short so he wouldn't be confused. "Concentrate on your breathing little bro" I continue but he shakes his head, squeezing his eyes shut.

"Ca-an't" He gasps, and I reach out, gently pushing him forwards and sitting down behind him, letting Mikey lean on my chest with his ear.

"Listen to my breathing." He gasps, melting in my hold and closing his eyes again, shuddering as he takes another ragged breath. "That's it Mikey, yer doing great" I try to stay calm, rubbing his arm to reassure him as best as I could. Staying calm, move him to a quiet place, explain the situation.

It were the first things Aileen told us when she explained us about panic attacks, because she was sure Mikey would have them without a doubt.

Slowly his breathing evened out slightly and he stopped wheezing for every breath, fully slumping against me. He blinked a few times but didn't look up or moved. I sigh, shifting slightly to get more comfortable and ruffling his hair gently.

"Mikey?" I address the younger boy, gently untangling myself and shifting onto my knees. He blinks a couple of times, still drowsy and obviously distressed. "C'mon" I say, hosting him up and wrapping an arm around him. I walk with him out of his room, seeing Leo and dad stand in the hallway, looking at the both of us with almost horrified eyes.

Mikey seems to shrink into my side at the stares. "Dad can you get a blanket, Leo some hot cocoa?" I almost order and the two nod, turning around and walking down the stairs. I look at Mikey for a second. "I know it seems scary as shit right now but yer gonna be 'kay" I say, nudging him gently and he nods.

When we get downstairs dad was already waiting next to the couch with a blanket, who immediately wrapped it around Mikey. The latter accepted the blanket, curling up against dad on the couch. Dad gives me a slow nod and I return it, turning around and walking over to the kitchen.

"How is he?" Leo immediately asks as I walk towards the kitchen, looking at me while simultaneously making the cocoa I requested. I look around the kitchen, Miyuki was standing next to the kitchen island and Don was actually sitting on the counter, silently watching me as I walked towards him.

"Shaken but I think he's gonna be okay" I shrug, placing a hand on Don's and squeezing it gently. He returned a weak smile, eyes still slightly red.

"You know what caused the panic attack?" Don asks but I shake my head.

"No freaking clue, I don't think it was dinner or the company" I glance at Miyuki at the statement but she just nods in approval at the almost accusation.

"We can ask later, us asking him question will not help him" He looks at me and I raise my hands in a defensive gesture.

"Not like I don't know that fearless" I mumble but Leo ignores the comment, taking the cup of cocoa and walking out of the kitchen.

TMNT

"So why aren't we taking them now?" A dark voice asks, narrowed eyes looking at the pictures of the boy that was once his son. The boy he adopted and abused for 10 years. The boy that cost him his wife.

"The higher you climb in life, the harder you fall" Saki glares and the blond man huffs in annoyance.

"I don't even know what that means." Zucco snickers at the statement.

"Never the clever one huh Kevin?" He snickers but Saki backhands Zucco, glaring at him, which effectively shut Zucco up. Saki turned back to Kevin, Raph's adoptive father.

"The longer we let them get used to their new lives, the harder the fall once we take them back" He turns away from the two idiots, glaring. "And the longer they stay with Hamato Yoshi, the stronger the bond between him and them."

"And the more pain it will cause him" Zucco finishes and Saki nods in approval. "And we want them at the same time, they have to be alone, and right now they have never been alone"

"Not for long I hope" Kevin mutters which only angered Saki even more. The man suddenly turned around, throwing one of the classes right at Kevin's face, who was just able to dodge it, glass shattering behind him.

"You will stop this complaining, it was your foolishness that let Raphael be discovered. If it had not been for your rash behaviour he would still be under my watch" Saki narrows his eyes. "And if you ever want to see your wife again you will follow my orders." Kevin glares at the ground.

Saki was right, if he ever wanted to see his wife again, he would have to follow Saki's orders. Only he could get his wife out of prison, where she ended up after Raphael had been discovered, at least, Saki was the only guy he knew who could break out his wife. He was the one that made it possible for him to fake his own death and get out of prison.

"No matter, the plan is still in motion" Saki continues, turning away from the two again. "Once we take his sons again, Hamato Yoshi will be crushed and I will have my revenge."


	13. Chapter 13

"And you promise one of you will be with me?" Mikey whispers lowly and I smile, putting a hand on his shoulder and squeezing it gently.

"Every class is with either of us, and we won't leave you in between classes okay? The teachers won't mind if we're a bit later if it means getting you to the next class safely"

"I just.. it's been so long since I've gone to a place with so many people" Mikey adds shyly, watching the teens that were walking past us with almost narrowed eyes, his muscles tensed. But as expected no one looked at us, they just walked around us. Didn't care, didn't notice Mikey's distress.

"We understand little bro, and that's okay. High school is a scary place for everyone" Don says with a grin and Mikey reacts by giving a smile as well, even if it was less, it was genuine. "You'll be fine" Don tries to reassure his only little brother, looking up as the first bell rang.

Without saying anything, and Raph and me exchanging some looks, we start heading towards the school. I feel Mikey creeping closer to me, whether consciously or not, but I didn't object. He had first and second period with me, Don joining us for second period. And throughout the days we all had combined classes.

I glance at Mikey as Raph and Don both go their separate ways and I can see he's tensing when a crowd of high school students walk past him on either side. I snake a hand around his hand for a second, not visible in the crowd surrounding us but it makes Mikey look up.

"Daijyobu desu" I whisper and he nods shyly, understanding the statement even if it was Japanese. We've been teaching him a lot of that, and It's okay was a sentence we often uttered.

"Hey Leo" I beam at the voice when I enter the classroom, looking over at the approaching figure of Karai.

"Hey Karai" I greet her, stepping sideways slightly and looking back at Mikey, who seems to be horribly out of place right now, blue eyes darting around the classroom. "This is my little brother Mikey, he's in the same class"

At the mention of Mikey Karai's smile falters a bit for a second, knowing who Mikey was, and his background. But she quickly recovered, putting on a smirk instead, not the one to fake a smile just for the heck of it.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Karai, his better half" She grins and I gape as Mikey snickers at the reaction. He looks up at me, cocking his eyebrow. Seriously, what happened to the boy who just came to live with us? It was a pleasant change, but right now he was abusing that change, using it against me.

"You wish Karai" I snort, and Karai snorts as well, hitting me in the chest. I was about to retort when the teacher scraped her throat, catching our attention. "Right.. come on" I say, flashing an apologising smile to the teacher before leading Mikey to the back of the class, where I usually sat next to Karai.

I flashed her a grateful smile when she sat down one table behind mine, allowing Mikey to sit next to me.

Luckily the teacher had enough sense not to announce Mikey as being new, and it wasn't unusual for students to be transferred to another school after Christmas, so not even the students were all that surprised by Mikey's sudden appearance. And most knew about the newest addition to the Hamato family.

I could see Mikey wasn't at ease, constantly glancing around the glass as laughter boomed through the class, shrinking in on himself. Eventually the teacher shushed the class and gave us our assignments to do.

"Michelangelo?" I look up at the voice, gazing at the teacher standing next to my table and looking at Mikey. "Is it okay if I talk to you for a second in the hallway?" She glances at me for a second but I just look over at Mikey, who in turn looks at me.

"I'll go with you" I assure him, standing up first and holding out a hand for Mikey as an invitation. The class didn't even pay attention, they had seen it more than enough when Raph was just enrolled 5 years ago, and we generally weren't afraid to show our love for each other by hugs or holding my brother's hand.

"I talked with your counsellor yesterday but I wanted to hear it from you so I can help you the best I can" I smile gently, nudging Mikey almost as we both stood in front of our teacher. She was sweet, and genuinely caring, and she was also the one who Raph was the most comfortable with. Even if she didn't teach him.

"What do you want to know?" Mikey asks softly, a hint of nervousness in his voice. Jessica, as she was called, smiled gently.

"I don't want you telling anything you don't want to tell me, but how far is your education?" I'm glad she didn't ask, or didn't add the sentence 'as you were in a brothel for 5 years', but the silent addition was present.

Mikey frowns for a moment before looking up. "During the day we were allowed to be together.. one of the girls was a college graduate and taught us everything she knew to pass the time." Jessica listened, mixed emotions on her face but didn't say anything. "They allowed it because it kept us busy, which meant we wouldn't cause trouble"

I blink a couple of times, surprised Mikey would say this much, but at the same time, Jessica had this effect on Raph as well, and other students. It wasn't weird that she was that one teacher everyone went to to talk about their problems. And her being a woman helped as well, since Mikey still had trouble facing older man as they hurt him.

"Thank you for telling me this Mikey" She stopped, glancing at the both of us at the use of his nickname but I just shrug, it was okay for people to call him Mikey, he preferred it actually. "How far are you with history?"

There was a glimmer in his eyes, and I laugh silently as I knew history was his favourite subject. "Everything mostly, Middle Ages, the Old ages, the two World Wars. She wasn't American originally, so she studied history differently." Jessica nodded.

"It is, but luckily for you this is World History, we're at the second World War right now" Jessica explained. "That was everything I wanted to ask, if you ever feel like you're falling behind or you don't understand something, you can ask me any time. Okay?" She asks, looking at Mikey.

Much to my surprise Mikey smiled, nodding before the smile disappeared, but a grin kept plastered on his face. He looked at me for a moment before turning back to the classroom again.

"How are you doing?" Jessica suddenly asks as Mikey enters the classroom, I frown, watching Mikey but he just sits down, undisturbed by my absence almost so I turn to Jessica again.

"A bit overwhelmed honestly" I tell her, knowing she was talking about the whole situation. "He's come a long way already but it's still walking on eggshells sometimes" I tell her honestly and she nods.

"You'll get through this, I see how he looks at you sometimes, he trusts you, your bond is better than your bond with Raph all those years ago." I wince slightly, but nod nevertheless.

"Well Raph didn't know how to trust at all, Mikey had.. people he trusted back there" Jessica smiles but shakes her head slightly.

"Still, from what I've heard he had it rough.. I'm surprised to see him trusting you this much" Jessica says, putting a hand on my shoulder for a second. "Take care Leo"

TMNT

"You survived?" Raph asks the moment we sit down at our table. Mikey lets out a dramatic sigh.

"You weren't kidding" He says quietly, looking at Raph, who in turns smirks.

"High school's horrible isn't it?" Mikey nods in confirmation, grabbing the lunch dad has made him from his bag. "At least dad spares us from further torture by making us lunch" Raph remarks, glancing at the tray of food that Karai had carried to the table.

"Raph" Donnie suddenly says, sounding quite alarmed. Raph looks up, eyes focused on something. I turn around, noticing his team walking over to our table, before immediately looking back at Mikey, who was tensing and glancing around already.

Raph sends me a look, silently assuring me.

"Raph!" Another voice exclaims, slapping Raph on the back and grinning at us.

"Casey" Raph grumbles, looking at the approaching team. "Can ya like sit somewhere else, now is not really a great idea" Immediately Casey looks over at Mikey and a look of understanding crosses his face.

"Sure thing man, see you at practice?" Casey almost whispers, fist bumping Raph, who sends him a grateful nod. "Come on boys, Karai is talking girly things, we don't want to be part of that" Casey jokes and Karai glares at the boy.

"Jerk" She says, throwing her apple at his head, hitting him head on but Casey just grins, leading the team away from their table to another table. A few teammates glance at both Raph and Mikey, knowing and undoubtedly understanding the story. Despite popular belief, the team wasn't made of bullies, and were great friends of everyone.

And they knew of Mikey, and his background. Just as they knew what Raph had gone through.

"Casey?" Mikey asks softly, looking at his older brother.

"Best friend of mine, known him ever since I stepped foot in this school. He had some issues at home as well so we instantly bonded I guess" Raph shrugs.

"They're both mentally unstable, you don't want to get between them" Donnie voices, with a snicker.

"Let's not mention you and April" Raph retorts and Donnie rolls his eyes, grabbing his lunch as well. Mikey seems to relax slightly at the bickering, and the fact that he knew everyone at the table except Karai, but somehow they had both talked quite a lot during history for some reason.

I was glad, Karai was one of my best friends. And it pained me to not invite her to my house anymore because I was afraid of Mikey's reaction. But despite all my, our, expectations, Mikey seems to be handling school quite well.

TMNT

"I don't get it" Mikey groans, letting himself fall onto the bed with a dramatic sigh.

"History again?" Donnie asks, not looking up from his own desk where he was making his own homework.

"Yes" Mikey almost shouts, frustration bleeding from his voice. "The World War was started and fought by Germany basically, and yet there's barely anything in here about Germany. No NSDAP, no nationalism, no Nazi's"

"It wouldn't have been a World War without America" Donnie comments. "And America did supply countless weapons, and fought in Asia"

"True but there's nothing about Europe, not even Stalingrad" Donnie smirks at Mikey's complaints.

"Americans probably complain about the lack of America in European text books." Don continues and Mikey puts his book down, glancing at his immediate older brother. "That Dutch friend of mine told they only learned about the European side of the war, nothing about America except D-Day and Pearl Harbour"

Mikey is silent for a moment before he glares. "Fine, you win" He scowls playfully and Don grins, turning around to his younger brother.

"Are you gonna bleach your hair forever?" He suddenly asks, putting his arms over the chair and looking at the newly bleached hair of his younger brother. Mikey's face falls slightly and he sits up fully, legs crossed on Donnie's bed. He ruffles slightly through his own hair, as far as he comfortably could with the light spikes he had in his hair.

"I don't know" He admits but it's not sad, his voice is light. Unsure about the future of his hair but not unsure of answering the question and Don smiled at that.

"It suits you" Don says and Mikey beams. "When did you… bleach it?" At this Mikey's smile falters, and he stares down, looking at his hands that were now resting on his lap. Don kept silent, knowing that interrupting now, and telling him he didn't have to tell, was worse than letting him decide for himself.

"They saw I was partly Asian and they thought.. it would affect my likeability.. so they bleached it to make me more American" Don could only stare at the confession, shellshocked at the realisation that they bleached his hair to make him more attractive to customers.

It sickened him.

"Is that why you keep it like that? Because you think .. we like you more this way?" Don eyes at the newly bleached hair, feeling his stomach turn at the possibility, but Mikey's eyes widen at the question.

"No, definitely not. That would be weird, wanting to be American in an Asian family.." He chuckles slightly. "I actually like blonde better.. black hair never suited me"

Instead of replying, Don stands up and walks over to the bed, sitting down next to him. Mikey silently accepts the gesture, laying his head on Donnie's shoulder, and in return Don wraps his arm around Mikey, bringing him even closer.

"Mikey" Don asks after a few silent minutes, and Mikey hums. "What were you like when you grew up?" Before your adopted parents were murdered. Mikey is silent for a moment.

"Hyperactive is what mom used to call me" Mikey chuckles softly, shifting slightly. "My teacher said I was eager to learn but lost concentration too quickly, drove her crazy" This time Don chuckles, somehow he could see Mikey like that, as he quite often acted this hyperactive lately.

"Would you like to visit your old town again?" Don asks and Mikey untangles himself from the hug, looking at Don with questioning blue eyes. For a second Don is sure Mikey is going to decline his offer but slowly he nods, a smile on his face.

"I'd like that"

TMNT

"Are you sure it's a good idea Donnie?" I scowl slightly at the worried tone of my older brother.

"Yes Leo, I'm sure" Fact was, I wasn't sure at all, I wasn't sure if this was the right idea, but Mikey seemed to like the idea, so what could I do? Deny him the right to visit his old home. His old town when he wanted to?

"Just be careful 'kay?"

"I will" I chuckle, hanging up the phone and putting it in my pocket again, looking over at Mikey. He was currently staring out of the window, earbuds in his ears with music on. I sigh, making myself comfortable as well as the train moved on, bringing us closer and closer to Lancaster with every second.

Lancaster.. it was weird to think that's where Mikey grew up for most of his life, not New York, but Pennsylvania, not New York City or Manhattan but Lancaster. I chuckle slightly again, luckily it wasn't as far as Raph's old town. For our sake and Raph's sake. Florida was a 15 hours ride after all.

Dad would freak out if I were to take Mikey on a 15 hours ride to his old town. He already freaked now that I take Mikey on a 3 hour train to Lancaster. He didn't not approve, he just… he was worried.

I smile, reaching for my own earbuds and making myself comfortable for the rest of the ride.

"You lead the way little bro" I tell him as we arrive in Lancaster, we both look around the station, Mikey almost beaming as he takes in the familiar sight.

"Just gimme minute, I haven't been to the station much when I was younger" He tells me and I feel hope surge through me at his upbeat voice. He looks around for a little while longer before we both take a bus towards the end of the town, Mikey leading right now. Eventually he grows a little silent and he takes an unconscious step towards me.

"Where are we?" I ask as we get out of the bus, walking down the street. He's quiet for a moment before he stops, looking to his right.

"My old house" My breath hitches slightly as I look at the house. It wasn't a particular fancy house, quite small actually but it looked nice.

"You want to ring the bell?" I ask but Mikey shakes his head.

"They surely sold the house to someone else."

"But we can always ask if we could take a look?" Mikey bites his lip slightly at the suggestion so I take his hand gently, walking up to the house but allowing Mikey to stop me anytime he wants. He doesn't. I release his hand to press the bell, hearing a ring echo through the house and I feel Mikey tense again.

"Hello boys" A sudden cheery voice answers the door and I blink a couple of times at the woman. She was around 40, blonde hair with green eyes, a kind smile on her face.

"Hello ma'am" I greet politely. "I know this is impolite to ask this but we were wondering if we could come in." A weird expression crosses the face of the woman.

"Why if I may ask?" The woman inquires but the voice is still welcoming. I glance at Mikey for a second.

"My little brother got separated from us when we were babies and was adopted by another family, he grew up in this house.. " Slowly her eyes widen, looking at Mikey.

"I know you" She breathes out. "Not personally but.. I know about the couple that lived here before. We bought the house a year after they died.. they said their son had disappeared"

"That's me" Mikey grimaces and the woman softens her expression again.

"We found him 4 months ago, but.." I stop, not feeling comfortable to be talking about Mikey's trauma's in front of a strange woman. "He wanted to see his old house again"

"Oh of course honey, come in" The woman says, holding the door opening. "I'm afraid that the house has changed slightly. We didn't paint anything but we changed the furniture."

"I understand" Mikey whispers, looking around the hallway in wonder, following the woman inside the living room. "The couch is the same" He whispers and the woman nods.

"It is, we bought some along with the house because the previous ow-.. your parents left them" The woman says. "Feel free to look around, would you like something to drink?"

"Oh we don't want to bother you too much ma'am. And are you sure we can look around? You don't think we will .. well betray that trust" At this the woman laughs.

"You're roughly the same age as my daughter, I can tell you're good kids" She says, walking up to Don and both watching Mikey testing the couch. "I can see the way you look at him, you're his older brother right? I can see you're very protective of him"

Don looks at the woman, feeling surprisingly at ease with her. "We're twins, quadruplets actually. We're the youngest two, but he's the youngest, yea" Don breathes out.

"Fascinating." The woman smiled. "As long as you're careful you can look around, my brother died when I was just 10 years old. I know looking through his old stuff helped me cope. Hopefully this will help him as well, I can see he's traumatised, his eyes give it away" She says softly.

"I am very sorry for your loss" I just mumble.

TMNT

"This was your room?" I ask, looking around the room. Mikey nods slowly, turning around and looking at me.

"My bed was on the other side of the room though, next to the window" Mikey gestured me to come closer, which I did. "Mom would read stories to me here, made up stories" Mikey continued, looking at the garden below them. A park to be precise.

"Thanks for taking me out here" Mikey whispers, leaning against me. I smile, putting an arm around his shoulder.

"Anytime little bro, anything to make you more comfortable" I nudge him slightly and he looks up with a smile, and I ruffle his hair slightly. Something the three of us have been doing much lately, ever since we noticed he was flinching less and less every time we did ruffle his hair.

Mikey fiddled slightly, gazing out of the window before turning to me again. "I'm ready to go I think" I nod, respecting his wishes of wanting to leave. He handled this so well already, of course I hoped this would happen. But somewhere I had this deep fear that this could also swing the other way.

That this could affect him in a negative way, cause him to break down as well. But he seemed content with seeing his old home. Emotional but content.

So they thanked the woman sincerely for letting them into her house, Mikey's old home, and left. Not taking the bus right now but walking down familiar, or at least familiar to Mikey. We didn't speak as we walked, and both were comfortable with that. Mikey was only looking around in wonder, sadness.

"Is there anything else you want to see?" I ask him as we both sit on the swing. He is mindlessly swinging his legs back and forth, not looking at me.

"I don't know if… if it's still the same but my teacher used to.. because this wasn't a rich neighbourhood she used to volunteer to watch the kids on Saturday, other teachers did on other days."

"And you wanted to check it out?" I ask him and he nods. "Let's go then, you're calling the shots today"

"Is that a wise choice?" He snickers and I laugh, shoving him slightly and he grins towards me. I shake my head but I don't comment on it, content with his smile as we walked down the road again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To clear it up, Mikey grew up in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Raph grew up in Gainesville, Florida.


	14. Chapter 14

"Hey squirt" I greet the mop of blond hair as he walked up to me in the hallway. Mikey grinned, albeit still shyly. It had been six months already since Mikey had come to live with us. Six months and he had slowly been getting better every day. But he still wasn't fully healed.

If he could ever be.

"You're barely taller" He countered and I snorted, closing my locker. He was still jumpy around loud noises, so I avoided slamming it shut. And he still seemed to be uncomfortable around large crowds, like our high school hallways, so I quickly zipped my bag and flung it over my shoulder.

"Still taller, c'mon" I snicker, gesturing him to follow. "Leo and Don both have some nerd group to attend to so we're alone tonight."

"You're cooking?" Mikey asks, figuring dad was out of the state for a few days right now, something to do with his work. But Leo and Don both had their suspicions as well, we all thought the same, dad was working on Mikey's case.

"Nice try, but you, are definitely cooking" I shot back, snicker and Mikey frowns. I notice the change and I nudge him gently. "Something wrong?"

He shrugs, looking away from me as we enter the park. He stays silent for a moment but I'm not particularly worried about the silence, it was something he did a lot of times, fall silent during conversations. He once told me it was to arrange his thoughts or something, and that it calmed him.

So I didn't push him to say something right away.

"I-.. " He stops again, shaking his head for a second with an embarrassing look on his face and I put a hand on his shoulder, stopping both of us from walking. He looks up at me. "I made friends these last months.. away from you, and that's not the problem, but that means they don't .. know"

They didn't know about Mikey's past.

I immediately realised, because in these last 6 months we got to know Mikey, and we started getting better at reading him, figure out what he was trying to say when he really didn't say anything. He made friends at school, and I should be nothing but glad that he was settling after everything.. but we didn't know them.

And because they didn't know us, or really knew us like April, Casey and Karai did, they didn't know our story. So they didn't know Mikey had been lost to us for 15 years, that I was troubled because of my own past, that I had been lost to the rest for 10 years and that Mikey had issues as well.

I take a deep breath, looking at him.

"What happened?" I ask, leading him to one of the benches in the park. It was a quiet part of the park, rarely anyone using it so we didn't have to worry about anyone overhearing us.

"Nothing bad, I promise" Mikey hastily added and I nod with a frown. "Just.. Mundo can be very loud, and touchy and stuff. Hugs and nudges and stuff"

"It freaks ya out" I deduct and he nods again.

"And Renet…. she's really cool but.. " He looks up to me with an almost desperate look on his face. "I think I like her… and it scares me" He admits and my face falls almost. He was crushing on a girl in his class. He was crushing on Renet no less. I should be overprotective as older brother.

But Renet was a sweet girl, and I knew she would never hurt Mikey intentionally but that was just the problem. She was already by being near him, by making loud noises and by touching him even in the slightest. Like brushing his shoulder, or hugging him. And he liked her.. and with his past..

"Why does it scare ya?" I ask, hoping that I was wrong about the reason he was scared. I didn't want to think about the possibility of him not being able to have a normal life.

"Everything" He whispers, wrapping his arms around himself. "The thought of moving forwards.. if she likes me.. they kissed me as well.. they touched me.. I don't think I can.."

"Hold on for a minute" I cut in, feeling my stomach turn when he just confirmed what I was fearing, he was scared because of what they did in the brothel, raping him daily. "I think yer getting ahead of yourself. You don't even know if she likes you that way, and even if you both do.. you don't have to rush things, take it slow y'know" I try, scratching the back of my neck.

Mikey flushes red as well, and I cough awkwardly.

"I don't know if I can ask her out, kissing scares me as well" He tells with a small voice and I sigh.

"I get that little bro, I really do. But it can also show you it doesn't have to be scary" I tell him.

"I used to be afraid of physical contact as well after what those assholes did to me, and even you were afraid of cuddling because of that place. But dad showed me I have no reason to be scared of contact because he and the guys hugged the shit out of me" I explain and Mikey smiles shyly.

"We showed you that you could come to us after a nightmare and that you don't have to be afraid to be comforted by family." I sigh, looking at the ground. "Look I should be saying she should stay the hell away from you.. but she's a sweet girl from what I've heard from April.. and she can sh-"

I didn't have time to finish that sentence.

I cry out as suddenly something was wrapped around my throat and a hand was pushed on my mouth to keep me from screaming. I buck upwards to get out of the grip but the grip is strong, and my attempt was futile. I scream again but the sounds were muffled through the hand.

I could hear Mikey struggling next to me as well and I open my mouth again, twisting my head and biting down on the hand. Behind me I hear a yell of pain but the arm around my neck never moves.

"HE-" I start but I gag as the arm presses harder against my throat, cutting off my cry for help. I gag and I feel panic rise up at the inability to breath and the arm releases my throat ever so slightly, allowing air to flow through my lungs again.

"Stay still" Someone behind me growls but I don't, twisting again before something is pushed into my mouth and a piece of duct tape is slapped over my mouth to prevent me from spitting it out.

Angry tears burn in my eyes as I realise, or fear, what was happening. The mouse, the boss, the brothel, Mikey's brothel. They found him, they found us.

I can hear Mikey whimper next to me, the sounds muffled by the same gag as I had in my mouth, a piece of cloth secured by duct tape. He shouldn't have to go through this, not Mikey, we accomplished so much these past 6 months and these guys, whoever they were, were dangling that accomplishment above a cliff.

Daring to throw it away like a piece of trash.

"If you want your brother to live, you better stop squirming" A voice speaks up and I glance to the right, eyes widening when I see a gun cocked against Mikey's head, tears leaking out of his eyes. I immediately go limp, muscles still tense in anticipation about what was going to happen.

With the gun still pressed against Mikey's head I allow myself to be dragged away, only to be forced into a van not soon after. Of course they'd had the van close by. Stupid, we should've stayed in full sight, we knew they were still out there.

Not seconds later Mikey was thrown into the van as well, the doors closing immediately after and leaving us with nothing but darkness. Immediately my hands go to my mouth, ripping off the tape without a second thought and ignoring the pain it caused me, spitting out the cloth and carelessly allowing it to fall to the ground beneath me.

"Mikey?" I ask, reaching out in the dark until my fingers collide with his figure. I could feel Mikey moving, followed by the same sound of him ripping off the tape as well.

"R-Raph?" He hiccups, taking a shuddering breath to calm himself. "Tell me… tell me h-he didn't find me" He whispers in a shaky voice and I blink a couple of times, my vision slowly returning, eyes getting used to the darkness.

"I'm sorry" I mumble, pulling him closer to myself and wrapping my arms tightly around his form. He allows me to, leaning into my embrace. He takes a shuddering breath next me.

"Not your fault" He whispers, taking another shuddering breath and rubbing his eyes.

"But it is squirt, I'm supposed to look after ya" I whisper but Mikey shakes his head.

"This isn't your mess, it's mine" He denies but I shake my head as well, nudging him.

"It became our mess when ya came to live with us" I state firmly, not leaving any room for debate. And Mikey doesn't protest again, slumping against me even more and I wiggle slightly to get more comfortable, wincing as the van makes another sharp turn to the left.

Mikey doesn't talk for a while, taking comfort in the arms I had wrapped around him. My heart was pounding in my chest as we continued to drive to wherever they were taking us. Out of the city most likely, maybe back to Pennsylvania, where he grew up and where the brothel was.

But most likely somewhere else, far away from New York City, far away from people who knew us. And probably to force Mikey back into hell.

Is that why they took me as well? For blackmail?

I had no idea how long we were driving, hours it seemed like, before we suddenly slowed, taking more turns until the engine finally shut off. Mikey tensed up significantly next to me, trying to move away but I reached out with my hand, wrapping it around his wrist and pulling him back again.

"Raph.. they want me, I can distract them" He whispers, anxiously glancing towards the end of the van, sounds coming from outside.

"Like hell I will run" I spat out. "Remember what I promised ya, as long as I'm left standing, I will protect you. I promised you that and I'm not going to break that promise by running while you go sacrifice yourself to save my ass." I continue, looking at him, almost glaring. But it doesn't seem to scare him, glaring right back.

"Raph-" He starts, his tone dangerous and angry but he doesn't get to finish the sentence as the back of the van is opened, light pouring into the vehicle. I blink furiously, eyes protesting against the sudden light.

"Get out" A man grumbles, gaze darkening.

I look at Mikey, and we both silently stand up. I know what he wanted to say, that I should run instead, save myself. But like hell I was going to leave him behind with the people who forced him out of his home so soon after his adoptive parents died, people who forced him to get raped every day for 4 years.

Like hell I was going to leave him.

"Don't bother trying to run" The same man warns, gesturing to the gun that was in his right hand, the barrel pointed towards me. Because I was expendable, they didn't need me, they wanted Mikey. I didn't care about getting shot but I knew that Mikey wouldn't leave me, he wouldn't run after me taking a bullet.

So I stayed put.

We weren't outside, so there was no possible way someone was going to see us. We were inside some kind of factory or large building, the van parked in a garage. We were led up some stairs to a hallway of some sorts, before we had to go left and use another pair of stairs, this time to go down towards the basement.

We were led towards another room, with a set of bars separating one half of the room from the other.

"Get in" The man says, placing the gun against my back and I stiffen, obeying the order reluctantly and stepping towards the other side of the bars, lowering my head as I hear it close behind me, the sound of the man locking the door like a gunshot.

"Don't do this Hun, my brother has nothing to do with this" Mikey speaks up, looking at the man on the other side of the bars. "You have me, let him go" He whispers but Hun smirks.

They knew each other. I blink a couple of times. Hun apparently, doesn't seem surprised by the same calling but just takes a step towards the bars. Did they meet in the brothel?

"On the contrary Michelangelo" A taunting voice cuts in and I freeze at the sound, eyes widening.

"No" I whisper, recoiling as if Hun had really pulled the trigger, but I had preferred getting shot over this any time.

"You built up quite a temper these last 5 years" The man continued, walking into the room. Blond hair, crooked teeth and a sinister smile on his face, just like I remembered.

"Go to hell" I grit through my teeth but I take another step back as he approaches the bars, my body screaming at me to get as far away as I could. "You died"

"I never died" Kevin said. "I am alive son"

"Don't call me your son, I never was" I spat out, glaring at him.

"So ungrateful" He snickers and Mikey looks at me from besides me, before looking at Hun and Kevin again.

"How are you still alive?" He asks, gaze darkening as well.

"Someone got me out of prison" My da- Kevin said. Like hell he was my dad, he never was. And yet I noticed I wasn't as sure as I always thought I'd be. "He still needed my help"

Hun snorts next to him. "Don't think too highly of yourself, he could've done this without you" He says before turning to us again. "You being discovered by the police wasn't part of the plan" He explains but it only confuses me further.

"Plan? What plan?" I ask and for a second it's silent before Hun snorts.

"Are you really that stupid that you believe this is all a coincidence? Yoshi's imprisonment, you being adopted so soon, both ending up with shitty lives, it's all part of something bigger" Hun explains and I glare at him.

"What?" Mikey demands with a glare as well, shaking on the spot from both anger and fear.

"That's enough" Another voice cuts in, and a man walks into the room, bigger than Hun was and scars all over his face, one eye too damaged to be used again. "Leave us" He commands, looking at us while he says it, but both Hun and Kevin immediately listen, leaving us alone.

"Who are you?" I ask.

"I am surprised Yoshi has not spoken about me" The man snorts, cocking his head slightly. "You look so much like your mother, except the blond hair that is" He continues, looking at Mikey and I take a step sideways, to get closer to my little brother.

"Don't say anything about her" I glare but the man just looks at me with an amused gaze.

"You didn't even know her" He says, a bit of resentment creeping into his voice.

"And you did?" Mikey asks and the man turns to Mikey again.

"Better than you ever could" He spoke, staring at the both of us for another moment before turning around, leaving the room and shutting the door behind him, leaving us alone.

"That was your dad?" Mikey whispers after a silence, creeping closer to me and a worried look on his face. I look at him, sighing.

"Adoptive dad" I admit reluctantly, nodding.

"I'm sorry, I know you thought he died" Mikey continues, reaching out but I step out of the way, shaking my head. I don't say anything, walking over to the corner and sliding down the wall until I was sitting down, burying my face in my hands.

"Raph?" Mikey asks softly, kneeling next to me.

"I shouldn't even be upset… I got over it, I had Leo and Don, dad… I -.. 5 years-" I mumble but I stop as Mikey wraps his arms around me instead.

"Shut up" He whispers and I snort.

"Why are you..? I don't need no hug" I struggle slightly but Mikey doesn't let go. "I got away, I had time to recover.. you don't, why the hell are you…?" I stop myself, choking on a sob and I look at him with tears in my eyes, he looks at me, bright blue eyes filled with so much pain but also concern.

"These last five years don't mean anything Raph, he still hurt you, and he still scares you. That's perfectly normal" He whispers.

"You've only been with us for six months, you lost more.. what I went through is nothing compared to you, how can you be-" I stop myself as I look at him, and I realise that he isn't. How can you be so calm. He isn't, I could see the intense fear in his eyes, but he was hiding it for me.

We stay silent for a moment, tears welling up in Mikey's eyes. He was hiding his own fear because of me, but everything that happened in the last few hours.. it was taking a toll on him. He hadn't even seen Zucco, the one responsible for everything that had happened, but he knew what was coming.

"Come here" I whisper, nudging him until he was sitting next to me. I wrap an arm around him, bringing him closer to me. "Leo and Don will realise we're not home… they will call dad and the police" I whisper, still shaking slightly.

"They didn't come the last time" Mikey whispers, turning his head away from me. It takes me a while to realise who he was talking about, the police. When he was taken in by Zucco, when he was forced to work at the brothel.

"They will this time, dad won't give up on you. Leo and Don won't either" I state. The last time he had no one that cared about him, his parents died and he had moved away from the city he grew up in, he had no friends, and no other family. And the orphanage didn't care enough to keep looking for him.

"I hope you're right" Mikey whispers, leaning against me again.

"I am" I lied, because I wasn't sure myself. "And you're not alone this time, I will protect you"

"So I've heard" He smiled and I nod silently.

As long as I'm left standing, I will protect you.

That's what I had always said to him, after the mouse incident, in the van, and I was so sure, I would do everything to keep him safe.

But right now, with my dad in the picture, alive, who would protect me?


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Slight warning: this chapter can be slightly graphic. Nothing is explicitly written, but it is implied.

"Tell me, was being Saki's servant part of the deal? I'm curious" I sneer as Kevin puts the plates down on the ground, sliding it over to our part of the room. I glance at the food before glaring at my adoptive dad yet again. His eyes meet mine, anger present, anger that I was all too familiar with.

"Be grateful Saki doesn't want me harming you.. yet" Kevin threatened, leaving his eyes on me for another minute. I don't say anything and neither does he, we just stare at each other, both hatred in our eyes. Eventually it was my dad who breaks the contact, standing up and looking down at me before turning around.

"I want to know why" I speak up through gritted teeth. Why was he working with this Saki, why did he start hurting me? My dad stops in place, not turning around. "WHY?!" I scream, standing up and walking over to the bars, gripping it tightly until my knuckles were turning white.

This time my dad does turn around, glancing down at my hands before roaming towards my face again. Yet his face doesn't show any emotion whatsoever, just an empty void.

Then without saying anything he turns around again, leaving the room and shutting the door behind him. I stumble backwards, the silence like a harsh blow in the face, more painful than any beating I remembered.

"Raph" Mikey speaks up, looking up from his position on the ground. I look at him, still curled up on the ground and a blanket wrapped around him, trying to sleep. Sleeping before I had yelled.

"I woke you?" I ask, voice strained but Mikey shakes his head.

"Couldn't really sleep" He mumbles, slowly getting up until he was sitting.

"Nightmares?" I ask, walking over to him and sitting down next to him. Without looking at me Mikey uncurls himself from the blanket, wrapping it around me as well.

"Couldn't sleep" He just says, but I already understand what he was hinting at. He didn't sleep at all, or barely slept long enough to have dreams or nightmares in the first place. I sigh, wrapping my arm around him and bringing him closer. Mikey complies, leaning against me and closing his eyes.

"Would you stop looking for me?" Mikey asks after a silence and I frown, looking at him but Mikey refuses to meet my eyes, staring in front of him at nothing in particular.

"Never" I speak, my voice firm. Mikey nods tiredly but I knew what the question really meant. He was unsure if dad was looking for us, if Leo and Don were. He needed the assurance that someone was looking for him. And I really couldn't blame him after he was left alone almost 5 years ago.

The police gave up on him, just forgot about him when they realised there wasn't anyone interested in getting him back.

He needed to know that there was still hope of getting out.

TMNT

"You guys spoiled me too much" Mikey mumbled tiredly, letting his head fall back against the wall, staring up at the wall with a small groan. Raph smirks slightly, opening his eyes for a moment.

"So this is all our fault right now?" He snickers weakly as Mikey's stomach protests again.

"Maybe not" Mikey smiled for a second, before it leaves his face again. "They didn't feed me every day, I used to be able to handle it" Mikey continues, closing his eyes as well. He felt Raph shifting, his older brother currently using him as a human pillow to try to sleep, but they were both too hungry to actually fall asleep.

Raph's stomach churned painfully and he groaned in frustration, swallowing a few times but nothing satisfied his stomach.

It had already been two days, two days since they had last seen Kevin, Raph's dad, two days since they had seen anyone, and two days since they'd been given food. Water bottles had been stacked in their cell. Not many but enough for them to comfortably live with for now, to at least clench the thirst.

But they hadn't been given any food, and it was wearing them down.

"Why ain't they giving us food?" Raph asks in a weak voice, not really excepting an answer.

"To get us to cooperate" Mikey mumbles back, shuddering slightly and Raph cringes at the sentence. Mikey didn't need to elaborate for Raph to understand what was going on. They were starving them, just like they had starved Mikey at the beginning, when he was just taken in in the brothel.

They were starving them to get them to cooperate for something, to make them so desperate for food that they'd do anything. Raph narrowed his eyes slightly, no way in hell was he going to submit to them, ever. He understood why Mikey succumbed all those years ago though.

He never blamed Mikey for giving him, or considered him weak for doing so.

With his parents dying, and having nowhere else to go, no one else to turn to, his mind was fragile. And the isolation, the hunger and the thirst took its toll on him.

Not now, not when they were together, and not now they were older, stronger.

Just as both of them were starting to drift the door slammed open. Simultaneously both brothers' eyes snapped open, Raph scrambling upwards and looking at the approaching figures.

"No" Raph whispers as Hun walks up to him, grabbing his arm roughly. Raph growls in pain, trying to rip his arm away but the grip on his arm was too strong.

"Stay away from him" Mikey screamed, scrambling to his feet but before he could try to help his brother someone caught his wrist. His eyes widened, cowering at the face that was in front of him.

His mouth went dry and he felt himself pale. "Zucco.." He whispered, taking a step backwards, a futile and weak attempt to get away. Zucco grinned, taking a step forwards to lessen the distance between them again.

"We meet again" Zucco grinned.

"I'm useless, they know you forced me" Mikey spoke weakly but Zucco snickered again, shaking his head.

"Are you really that ignorant to believe the customers don't know that?" Zucco asks, twisting Mikey's arm and turning the boy around until his back was against Zucco's chest. "They don't care about that, they only care about your cute face" He whispered and Mikey started to tremble on the spot, fear coursing through him.

"Like hell you are taking him back!" Raph growls, renewing his struggles.

"A little help" Hun spoke with an annoyed tone, having little problem to restrain Raph.

"Raph" Mikey whispered, looking eyes with his older brother, both eyes full of fear.

"Don't be afraid little bro" Raph shouted, but Mikey didn't answer, only looking at Raph with fear in his eyes, looking into green eyes that displayed the same fear.

Raph's head snapped to the side at the sound of someone else walking into the room.

"Finally" Kevin growled, stalking towards Raph without hesitation.

"Raph!" Mikey screamed, struggling again.

As long as I'm standing.

Kevin swung his arm backwards, tightening his fist and he swung forwards. The blow seemed like a thunderbolt, connecting with Raph's jaw at immense speed and he crumbled to the ground.

Nobody will hurt you.

"NOOO!" Mikey screamed, but Hun had already started dragging Raph out of the room, lifeless, unconscious. Zucco growled, roughly pushing Mikey forwards to make him start moving. Tremors seemed to envelop his entire being as he complied, walking with shaky steps.

"NO! RAPH!" He screamed again as Zucco turned him to the right, the opposite direction of Raph. He struggled again, wriggling out of Zucco's grasp. Without thinking about it he sprinted towards his unconscious brother. He screamed, trying to hit Hun, make him release Raph.

"Raph wake up" Mikey pleaded but Raph was unresponsive. Hun smirked, dropping Raph from his grasp. "Please" He whispered, voice cracking. But Raph didn't wake up, mouth slightly agape and a red spot appearing on his jaw already.

He was alone.

"No" Mikey whispers, heart sinking in his chest and sinking to his knees. And still, Raph never opened his eyes. He tensed as he felt a hand wrap around his arm, hauling him upwards, but he didn't struggle. Zucco easily picked him up, throwing him over his shoulder and walking off.

Mikey's blue eyes could only latch themselves onto the still figure of his older brother, until Hun dragged him out of his sight.

Alone.

TMNT

"I'm useless, let me go" Mikey tried, struggling furiously in Zucco's grip. He didn't know it here, he didn't recognise the building, but he knew the man that was holding him, knew him all too well.

Zucco snickered behind him, pushing him around the corner before shoving him into a room. Mikey immediately fell to the ground, turning around and crawling backwards. His eyes were wide as Zucco shut the door, locking it.

"Sadly the old building was compromised, but I'm good with improvising" Zucco shrugs almost nonchalantly. Mikey's eyes darted around nervously, taking in the room he was currently in. it was a simple room, a bed in the middle but not much else was present, which was probably what Zucco meant by improvising.

"Dad is looking for me, they will find this place" Mikey glared, but he was trembling where he sat on the ground. Zucco didn't even look at him, sitting down on the chair that was next to the door. After a few seconds his gaze did find Mikey's eyes and Mikey immediately cringed at the attention.

It was the exact same look he had almost 5 years ago now.

"Don't count on it kid" Zucco says, shaking his head with a chuckle. "They don't care about someone like you. They didn't find you before, didn't look for you. The police found this building only because Saki wanted them to, you know that"

Mikey tries to glare but tears were lingering in his eyes. "I have a family now.. they won't stop looking" Zucco throws his head back, letting out a laugh.

"Please kid, they barely know you. They will stop looking eventually" Zucco laughs, standing up slowly and walking up to Mikey. The latter glares again, crawling backwards ever so slightly but not taking his eyes off the guy approaching him.

"You're lying" He whispers hoarsely. "They will come" They promised we were family, they said they loved me.

"Don't try convincing me, it won't work" Zucco says, glancing down at the cowering boy. "Though I don't know if you should convince yourself, you will only disappoint yourself"

"I won't corporate, not anymore" Mikey retorts but Zucco didn't react like he wanted to. If anything, he seemed pleased with the statement, happy with what Mikey was pointing out. Or he was just smug about Mikey not being able to get the better of him. That he still had this psychological advantage over the smaller boy.

"I don't expect you to be, I lost that obedient boy when you were taken away" Zucco answers calmly, cupping Mikey's chin. The latter frowns, slapping the hand away, flinching at the way Zucco talks about him. "But don't fret, we will work with this" Zucco mutters, a grin spreading on his face.

Mikey's head snapped to the side as a knock was heard on the door and Zucco's eyes seemed to light up.

"He knows you are not obedient, and he knows you're here against your will. He doesn't care. If anything-" Zucco stops himself, waiting a second before unlocking the door and opening it. "He likes it when his boys squirm"

Mikey can't contain the whimper that escapes his throat as a man steps into the room, eyes roaming around until they focus on Mikey. He recognises that look, he knows what is going on. It seemed like the temperature just dropped multiple degrees and he can feel himself start to shake in terror.

He knew what this meant.

This was his customer.

Without really thinking about it Mikey starts to crawl backwards again, almost immediately hitting the wall behind him. He lets out a yelp in surprise, his limbs twitching but he is frozen as the man roams over his entire body with his eyes. He's so far away, meters between them, and yet way too close.

It was sickening. He escaped, this wasn't supposed to happen.

They said he would never go back, they promised.

And yet he couldn't blame them. Raph tried.. And now his adopted dad captured him as well.

"He's cute" The man spoke in a low voice, walking up to Zucco and grinning down at Mikey. "I like the freckles" He comments, tilting his head slightly to look at Mikey from another angle. The latter was still shaking but he narrowed his eyes, scrambling to his feet and darting past the man and Zucco.

His legs felt like liquid rubber but he stumbled to the door, violently pressing down on the door handle.

But it didn't open.

He could hear snickers coming from behind him, Zucco's snickers he recognised all too well. He let out a frustrating sob, tears streaming down his face as he tried the door handle again, but the door didn't budge, didn't open. Of course it didn't open, of course it was locked, he heard Zucco lock it again.

He wasn't going to let him go again.

"Feisty this one" The man snickers, simply turning around but making no move towards Mikey. He knew he couldn't go anywhere. Mikey reluctantly and numbly turned around, eyes darting around for a possible escape, a weapon to attack even but he found none. Nothing to defend himself, and no way out.

"Take your time with this one, it's his first time in a few years" Zucco spoke, directly looking at Mikey while he spoke. Mikey shudders but the man next to Zucco just smiled, stalking over to him.

"Don't touch me!" Mikey cries out, trying to hit the man but he simply caught his wrist. Without much effort he dragged Mikey to the other wall, pinning him against it. With the other hand he grasped Mikey's free arm, bringing them together and holding both hands with only one of his.

"Don't go easy on him, he's used to a lot" Zucco grins and the man nods, not taking his eyes off Mikey's blue ones.

"No problem" The man grins, reaching in his pocket and taking out money and giving it to Zucco, the two nodded to each other before the man turned to Mikey again. The smaller boy squirmed, trying to twist himself out of the man's grasp but the man was strong, too strong, and had no problem holding Mikey with only one hand.

The man reached for his pocket, taking a knife from it and bringing it out in full view to see. Mikey paled at the knife, struggling even more but the man merely hooked the tip of the knife on his shirt, ripping it upwards and easily cutting through the material.

"Stop!" Mikey growled, but the man didn't seem to hear him, stashing the knife before ripping the shirt apart completely with his bare hands. The man dug into his pockets again, taking out a pill, holding it to Mikey's face.

"Swallow it" The man ordered but Mikey clamped his mouth shut, shaking his head. The man frowned, suddenly charging forwards and pressing his forearm against Mikey's throat. The latter yelps in surprise and the man takes the opportunity to force the pill inside Mikey's mouth.

He immediately put the hand on top of Mikey's mouth, making it impossible for him to spit it out. The other arm was still pressed against his throat. Mikey struggled, clawing at the arms but he wasn't strong enough, and the loss of oxygen was making his head pound painfully, and made his legs quiver beneath him.

Then he did what the man told him, he swallowed the pill. The man grinned, releasing Mikey's throat, causing the boy to immediately suck in a choked breath, coughing and spluttering.

"Wha..-" Mikey spluttered as the man grabbed his wrists again, pinning them above his head.

The man leaned in, nipping at his earlobe. "It's a muscle relaxant, can't have you struggling too much little mouse" He whispers, turning his face and putting his lips against Mikey's. The boy splutters, trying to turn his head away but the man doesn't seem to mind, his free hand trailing down to Mikey's belt.

Mikey's eyes widened at the cold touch, fingers trailing down his stomach but he could already feel the pill taking effect, his legs feeling weak beneath him. Not just from fear or exhaustion, this was different.

There was no way out.

Zucco grinned, unlocking the door to the hallway and opening it. He looked back one more time, before shutting the door.

Just before he did so, Mikey let out a scream. A mixture of sadness, anger, anguish and pain.

Just like old times.


	16. Chapter 16

They couldn't be saved.

That was the first thought that came to my mind when my fingers brushed over the torn clothing. My shirt, the one Raph picked out for me when we went shopping almost 6 months ago, completely ripped from the knife and the man's bare hands. I still don't know what he was called, and somehow I didn't want to know.

My pants were torn as well, by his hands and the temper he possessed. Or the eagerness. But again, I really didn't want to know which one it was, I didn't want the answers to these questions.

Only one: when do they get me out?

But I knew it wasn't going to be that easy, they found me last time because it was part of the plan Saki made. That was the only thing I did know. He had some kind of grudge against dad, my real biological dad that is, and he wanted revenge. The hatred for my father ran deep.

So deep that he been harbouring that anger for over 15 years now. He murdered mom, he arranged for me and Raph to be adopted as fast as possible. But he wasn't fast enough to take Leo and Don away as well. Raph's discovery was an accident, a careless mistake on Kevin's part.

My parents' death wasn't. I know that now.

Raph was asleep when Hun told me. The owner of the car that hit and killed my parents was known as Baxter Stockman, someone who was secretly working for Saki. Zucco forcing me to work for him wasn't a coincidence, it was all part of Saki's plan as well, not initially no. Raph was supposed to have the shitty life, I was supposed to have a good one.

To hurt dad even more. Raph would be terrified, too terrified to ever trust dad again in his life. I on the other hand wouldn't want to move in with him once he found me, because I would have other parents, a good life.

And I did, until Raph's life turned good. Then Saki decided my life couldn't be.

I whimper, shuddering from fear. It wasn't cold in the room, not in the slightest. It was comfortably warm in the room, something Zucco always made sure off, to please his customers. Right now it was a blessing as none of my clothes were salvageable and they had taken the blanket from my room.

Humiliating.

Another technique to get me to corporate. But like hell I would.

But I felt myself weakening more and more. The drug had already worn off hours ago. But it had taken me hours as well to get the courage to move from the bed, to crawl away from the place where the man had pinned me down, taken me and hurt me. But the change of place didn't help at all.

The floor was hard and uncomfortable, and the movement only made the ache worse.

My head suddenly snaps up when I hear footsteps and I immediately crawl backwards until I hit the corner of the room, wrapping my arms around myself to shield myself. As much as I could without any clothes on me whatsoever. I felt naked, I was, and I felt vulnerable as the door opened.

Zucco was the first one to step through the door, closely followed by another man. The man had spiky red hair and he was huge. Big muscles seemed to decorate his arms and he wore a hoodie of some sorts. His eyes immediately landed on me, an indifferent look on his face.

"What do you think?" Zucco asks and the man turns to Zucco, grinning.

"So far so good, he's cute" The man says, and I shudder at the deep raspy voice of the man.

"Good, because he's all yours" Zucco grinned, looking at me with a huge grin on his face. Bastard, he was enjoying this. I whimper in fear, wrapping my arms tighter around me. The man glanced at me, narrowed eyes roaming all over my body. Vulnerable, again this was the only word that I could use.

I felt vulnerable.

My bruises throbbed, hand shaped prints all over my arms, neck and thighs. I could feel dried blood on the inside of my legs, and I hurt, it hurt below. I had never felt more ashamed, not even after I had allowed Zucco the first time 5 years ago. I didn't understand it back then, not fully.

But my freedom these last 6 months.. only made this experience right now worse.

"Be cautious, we just got him back, he's still a fighter." Zucco said, looking at me. And I understood the silent message. You're still a fighter, for now.

"Am I his first?" The man asks but Zucco shakes his head. The man frowns, growling low in his throat.

"But don't worry, he can handle a lot, don't go easy on him" Zucco encouraged him and the man nods, looking at me again. I could feel a whimper building up low in my throat but I swallow it down, I wasn't about to show weakness. Not in front of Zucco, I wasn't going to give him that satisfaction.

The man silently dug his hand in his pocket, taking out a stash of money and handing it to Zucco. The latter took it with a grin, counting it quickly.

"You have three hours, enjoy" He said, leaving the room and the man turns around, locking the door before turning to me. Immediately he reached for the hem of his hoodie, pulling it over his head and stalking over to me.

"Stay away" I hiss through clenched teeth, suppressing a sob that was building up and I kicked out with my leg, not caring about exposing myself at this point. The man easily dodged it, kneeling next to me.

"Calm down Mikey" He spoke, his voice surprisingly lower than before. I frown, glaring at me.

"Don't say my name" I hiss angrily but the man doesn't listen, untangling his own hoodie.

"I know you don't trust me, but I'm here to help you" He continued, handing me the hoodie. I frown in confusion, looking at the hoodie for a good 10 seconds before reluctantly taking it

"Why?" I whisper, not daring to put on the hoodie as it meant taking my eyes off the man in front of me.

"Because I'm a friend of your dad, and your brothers" He told me. "I used to help Raph with his problems back in the day. When I heard you and Raph went missing, I immediately volunteered to help" He told me but I still didn't dare to take my eyes off him. Was he telling the truth?

"How do I know you're not lying?" I retort angrily, clutching the hoodie against my chest. The man chuckles slightly.

"Your dad said you wouldn't trust me, but he also told me you would recognise the lullaby Takeda no komoriuta. He said he used to sing it to you these last 6 months" My eyes widen slightly. I recognised that lullaby, and the man was right when he said dad used to sing it to me.

He had done it for the past 6 months.

It was a song my mom, my real mom, used to sing, and he started doing it after only Leo and Don were left. He started it again when Raph was just found, and he did the same thing when I was found. Nobody but my family could know about it, it was something we didn't even tell our friends or relatives. It was something between the five of us.

Suddenly the man stood up, his movements slow and cautious, and he took a few steps back. "My name is Allistar Spike, but Raph used to call me Slash"

"Why?" I ask as I carefully hook my arms through the fabric of the hoodie. The distance was comforting in a way, and as quickly as I could, I pulled the sweater over my head, trying to cover as much as possible. The hoodie barely fell over my hips, but whilst sitting that wasn't really a problem.

The man, Slash, smiles and pushes his tank top up a bit, revealing two long slices, slashes, along his abdomen. He lets it up for a few seconds before lowering it again. Then he dug into his pocket again, taking out a mobile phone and opening it.

"I'm contacting the police right now.. I can't make a phone call because they have this place bugged." Slash explains and I nod slowly. After a few moments he's done and he throws the phone on the bed before looking at me again. "Are you hurt anywhere?" He asks, slowly walking over to me and kneeling down.

"Just bruises" I answer, hoping he would drop the subject but instead he frowns.

"Zucco said I wouldn't be your first" I lower my gaze, nodding painfully and he keeps on frowning, anger all too evident in his eyes. But I'm too numb to actually care. "Can I do anything for you?" He asks but I shake my head. I just wanted to go home, I just wanted my family.

I wanted to feel safe again, and as much as I believed this man.. he didn't make me feel safe just yet.

TMNT

We sat in silence for I don't know how long. I was still huddled in the corner of the room, trying to continuously pull my hoodie downwards and feeling uncomfortable still. Slash both made me comfortable and uncomfortable at the same time. I knew he wouldn't hurt me, I knew he was here to help me.

But I didn't know him, and I still felt vulnerable with someone so close to me.

Then suddenly the alarms go off. I immediately stiffen at the sound, not as loud as usual but still all too evident. Slash looks up, frowning before he smiles slightly.

"Police" He mutters, looking at me with a reassuring look. He was sitting next to me, meters apart but in the same position as me, leaning against the wall and knees drawn to his chest. I glance at the door, resisting the urge to just bolt, run to the door and unlock it. It was possible, I could do it.

But Slash has told me it was too dangerous, if someone spotted us, they would alert the rest of the compound. We had to wait.

For the second time this day my head snaps up at movement just outside the door. I can see Slash looking at me from the side but I don't look at him, ignore his stare. I only look at him the moment he stands up to walk towards the door.

"Who is it?" He asks in a deep voice.

"Slash?" The frantic voice of Don came through the door and I immediately tense. Slash responds the moment Don said something, unlocking the door and opening it. Leo and Don were both standing in the door opening, two policemen and dad behind them. Both Leo and Don looked through the room, eyes falling on me.

"Mikey!" Leo cries out, rushing over to where I was sitting. I can only sit there, frozen as Leo wraps his arms around me, quickly followed by Don. "It's okay baby bro, we're here, we got you" Leo continues, and only then do I notice the tears streaming down my face. I sob, burying my face in the crook of Leo's neck.

I don't know how long we've stayed like this. I wasn't paying to attention to the time, or anything else really. I faintly realised dad wrapping his arms around me as well, or the police walking inside and standing guard, but I could only focus on the fact that I was surrounded by people I trusted.

My family.

"Someone find some pants, or anything" Leo suddenly spoke up, pulling away from the hug slightly. I almost whined as the cold air from the hallway hit the spot where Leo had just been, but he kept himself close to me, never letting me go while he was already barking orders.

I sniffle, hesitantly looking up and looking at two policemen who left the room. My vision was blurry, tears in my eyes as they roamed through the room, seeing Slash and the 2 other policemen that were still present.

"Hey" Leo tried to get my attention, stroking the side of my face. "Are you okay?" He asks me and I look at him, slowly nodding after a few seconds. I wasn't, not in the slightest. But Leo knew that as well for sure, and with the information he knew, I was okay, if that made sense.

It could've been worse.

I suddenly snap my head to the left, tensing as I looked at Don, but I immediately relax when his auburn eyes meet mine. He has a gentle, yet sad, smile on his face as he places his vest on my lap. I sag to the ground slightly, feeling my ears burn slightly from embarrassment.

"Do not be ashamed my son" Dad whispers softly, reaching out for me but I turn away slightly. I look at him, heart squeezing at the betrayed look on his face and I shake my head ever so slightly. "It is alright" My dad whispers, but I can hear the betrayal in his voice and I sob, wrapping my arms over each other.

It took a few minutes before the policemen came back with a pair of sweatpants and I quickly put them on, not bothering standing up just yet.

"There's an ambulance waiting in front of the building" Dad announces but I shake my head.

"I'm not going" I state, voice clear and determined. "Not until we find Raph"

"Mikey-" Don starts softly but I look at him, glaring slightly.

"I won't leave him alone.. his dad came back" I continue and Dad takes a step forwards.

"We know my son" He spoke and I reel back a bit, he knew?

"How?"

Don looks uneasy at the question but I don't back down, looking at dad. "Saki… sent us videos of Raph … and you." He stops himself, looking at me with almost regret in his eyes. I can feel numbness spreading through my body. He sent videos? That meant they saw.. they saw what Zucco did to me.

"You saw?" I whisper softly, staring at my family. But the silence already answered the question. "What is happening to Raph?"

"You don't need to know Mikey" Leo spoke with a heavy voice but I frown, shaking my head.

"I do, he's my brother" I retort. "You guys watched it as well, I know you have" I continue, voice lower than before.

"We haven't, only dad and the police, but only to figure out where Raph is being held" Leo explained firmly, looking at me with worried eyes.

"Did they figure it out?" I ask but he shakes his head. "Then let me see it, maybe I recognise something" I try again but dad frowns.

"I do not want you to see it Michelangelo, I don't want any of you to see it but especially not you" This time I'm the one frowning.

"I'm not weak dad" I protest. "Please just let me try, I know what Kevin is capable off, not knowing scares me more right now"

"How about we talk about it at home?" Dad eventually suggest and I sigh, he wasn't going to give in so easily. And normally, I wouldn't either. But my wounds were throbbing, my bottom was still agonisingly painful and I just wanted to get out of this place, go home and feel safe again.

So I nodded, bracing myself on the floor.

"Can you stand?" Don asks softly, carefully reaching for my arm. I immediately understand what he is trying to do and I wrap my arm around his shoulders, allowing my immediate older brother to help me stand up.

Immediately pain shoots through my entire body, and I hiss, doubling over. I groan, ignoring the shouts around me, the concerned rambling of my older brothers, squeezing my eyes shut to ride out the pain. I stay as still as I can, until I can feel the burn slowly subside to a manageable level.

"I-.. I don't think I can walk" I murmured, looking at Leo. He nodded slightly, a look of understanding in his eyes and he walked in front of me, turning his back to me. Without questioning it I wrap my arms around his neck. With the help of Don I get onto Leo's back, the latter hooking his arms under me so I wouldn't fall.

Still I don't let go of his neck, burying my face in the crook of his neck. The position on his back wasn't easing the pain at all, if anything it made it worse. But it didn't matter, I felt safe in his embrace.

I was safe.


	17. Chapter 17

"Are you sure you're okay? We can turn around if you want" Leo asks again, causing Don and dad to look in the rear mirror. I scowl, slapping his hands away.

"I'm not fine Leo" I growl, staring at him. "But I'm not going to the hospital before I know Raph is safe" Leo sighs at my statement, looking down with a guilty look. I scowl, looking the other way. I could feel both Don and Leo look at me but I only focused on the view next to me, cars and nature passing by.

We were currently on our way to the police station, they had intercepted a package that was meant for our house, with another DVD in it. And we all knew what was on that DVD, or we all assumed, another video of Kevin hurting Raph. So we immediately headed to the police station, and I refused to be left behind.

Don and dad were in the front of the car, Leo having volunteered to sit in the back with me, to watch over me or something. I was currently wearing a shirt under the hoodie Slash had given me, the hoodie comfortable and comforting right now. I sigh, wrapping my arms around myself.

"We're just worried about you Mikey" Leo suddenly speaks up and I look at him, feeling the same anger bubble up in my stomach. Anger I hadn't felt much since I was taking into their home. Not like I was ever truly angry, at least that's what my psychiatrist said. I used that anger to cover up my traumas.

Was I that kind of angry right now? I didn't even know to be honest.

"You should be worried about Raph" I mutter, directing my face towards the window again to hide the burning tears in my eyes.

We continued to drive in silence, nobody of my family saying anything else to me or anything in general. It was just silence. I didn't comment on it, soaking up the moment of peace and taking it as a gift. I sigh, closing my eyes and letting my head lean against the window, enjoying the slight cold.

Too soon, and yet not soon enough, we arrived at the police station. Dad shutting off the car and taking out the keys. I blink a couple of times, straightening up and looking outside. Two police men were already standing outside, just like a medical, scanning the car until his eyes landed on me.

I scowl, turning around and glaring at Leo. He blinks in confusion before holding up his hands with slightly widened eyes.

"I had no idea they would" Leo defends himself. "They only told us about police protection" He continues but I keep my glare up for another few seconds before softening up, nodding slightly. Leo seems okay with that, quickly getting out of the car and walking over to my side of the car.

I sigh bitterly, tensing slightly as Leo hooks his arm around my waist, carefully helping me out of the car. I hiss harshly, jerking away before my feet even hit the ground but Leo is strong, and he doesn't drop me, or let me go, for which I'm glad. I try to ignore the stares I'm getting from both the police and the medical.

But I keep limping inside, both Leo and Don close and next to my sides, supporting me the whole way.

TMNT

"What is the meaning of this?" Dad exclaims as we walk into the room, but instead of it being empty like we had been promised, another person was sitting in the room as well. Immediately his eyes travel to us, especially the figure on my right. I frown, taking an unconscious step forwards to stand in front of Mikey.

One of the policemen immediately hurried over to us.

"They managed to intercept the package where they sort all the packages before it was sent away, so they could see where it came from" He explains quickly, eyes flickering to Mikey before back to dad. "We found out he was the one to deliver the package" My eyes immediately widen, looking at my two little brothers before looking at the man.

My blue eyes met his brown ones, only worry present in them.

"And he does not want to speak?" Dad questions but I already shake my head. However, it is the policeman that clears up the situation.

"On the contrary, he came to the station himself to tell everything he knows. But he just arrived as it took us some time to contact him as well"

"Let's not waste time then" I whisper, looking at dad and he nods. Don and I share a look before he help Mikey over to the couch that was in the room. He hisses, trying to hide it, as he sits down, flinching away from both Don and me. But I knew not to take it personal so instead I sat down next to him, wrapping an arm around him.

"I don't know much though, I just collect everything and bring it to the factory where they sort it" The guy speaks up

"That's okay Keno, just tell us what you know" One of the man said, looking at Keno apparently.

"Uhm, I drove over to the place as usual, parked near the pickup point. There weren't many people and the parking lot was quite empty. I grabbed everything and put it in the van and drove off." Keno explained, brows furrowed slightly to make sure he didn't forget anything. But nothing he said was something we could use.

"Think Keno, nothing else? Anything that you noticed, even if you think it won't help" The policeman interrupted the boy's thoughts, and he looked up slowly, still frowning.

"There was an old lady going into the store, and a guy was standing in front of the store to sell newspapers but I don't see how that can help. There was this little girl walking around the parking lot, a bunch of students tried to buy alcohol but could-"

"A little girl? Was she alone?" The policeman suddenly interrupts and I frown slightly. Keno looks up to him, slightly confused as well.

"I thought so at first, yea. I told my buddy Monty that day and he said they were probably doing a social experiment, it happens quite frequently at that place actually" Keno explains.

"A social experiment?" Don suddenly questions and Keno nods.

"I suppose so, why?" He asks.

"Did you see a guy with a shaved side and black hair?" He questions and Keno frowns again, nodding.

"How'd you know?" He asks, turning to the police. "There was a guy like that but I didn't think it was important" He continues, looking at Don again.

"Because I know him" Don whispers. "He's a YouTuber-"

"Which means he recorded everything" Mikey suddenly speaks up and my eyes widen again, looking at the police with almost hopeful eyes. They could do something with this right? I mean, they had to, for Raph's sake. One guy whispered something to the other guy, who nodded before walking towards the door.

"Luther is requesting back-up to track down the guy, if you could come with him to help them" The guy asks, directed towards Don. He looks up to the guy, before glancing from dad to me, almost as if he was unsure whether to go or not.

"I could come with you if you would like" Dad opted but Don shook his head, smiling at us before standing up.

"Stay with them, I'll be fine" He says to dad, but I caught it nevertheless. Don walks up to the other guy, Luther apparently, before they both leave the room.

"We still have the recording they sent you" The remaining officer speaks up, glancing towards me and Mikey almost uneasily. I got the silent message immediately, he was deciding whether to send us away or not. Of course the officer wouldn't want us seeing such a video.

And neither dad wanted us to, but I wasn't leaving, not right now. If Don could help.. then dad couldn't forbid us from watching it as well. Anything to get Raph back right now. I glance to the sight, and Mikey stared right back at me, determination filling his eyes and he nods slowly.

He wanted to help as well.

"We're staying sir" I spoke up softly, but straightening up a bit. The officer seems unsure again, glancing at dad. But my dad sighs, nodding reluctantly, giving us permission to stay and watch the video. And right now, after dad had given us permission, I suddenly wasn't so sure about this anymore.

The officer took out the package, the same package we had received twice already, and the package dad had already hidden us from twice now. Not this time though, this time I wasn't going to shy away or listen to dad. The man takes out the disk, inserting it in the computer and putting it on full screen.

What I saw was like a blow to my gut, worse than any injury or any pain I had ever felt in my life.

And now I understood why Dad wanted us to ignore the video, didn't want us to see it.

The sight was horrifying, and I was sure I could never erase the image from my mind ever again. Raph lying on the ground, specks of blood on the white tiles and staining his ripped clothes. Lips tinted blue, eyes closed, whole body shivering violently and arms tied behind his back with handcuffs.

There were dark circles around his closed eyes, and numerous cuts and bruises all over his body. He didn't wear much, only his pants and a thin shirt to keep him from freezing to death. They wouldn't let it get that far, they wouldn't, at least I hoped they wouldn't. I hoped they wouldn't… push him too far.

I couldn't bear losing my immediate younger brother.

I couldn't bear losing anyone.

I glance to the side, dad was standing there with wide terrified eyes, tears lingering in his eyes. He seemed numb to the situation, detached from his body as he stared mindlessly at the screen in front of him. My pain was nothing compared to his, he lost his sons already, lost Raph once already.

And had already seen him in pain 2 times before me.

I swallow, slowly standing up and placing a hand on his shoulder. He looks at me, quickly wiping his tears away before wrapping me in a side hug. I could feel him burying his face in my shoulder, but he didn't do anything else, didn't cry and didn't sob or something similar for that matter.

But the pain was all too evident.

TMNT

"Easy" Leo glared as Mikey hissed in pain, jerking away. The medical glanced at Leo for a second before turning back to the smaller boy again, dabbing the small cuts and slashes on his arm with alcohol to disinfect it and simultaneously wipe away the blood from his arms. But the cuts were still sore, and his arms were littered with bruises.

Leo shifted his glare towards his little brother's arms.

He could see the clear outline of fingers on Mikey's wrists, on his upper arms, hand shaped bruises on his arm and shoulder as well as his chest and back. Mikey was currently still on the couch, huddled into himself as much as possible while the doctor treated him. His body language was clear, he wasn't comfortable.

Luckily no one else besides their dad was still present in the room. But still, the doctor didn't put Mikey's mind at ease. They hadn't taken into consideration that Mikey wouldn't be comfortable around men, especially after the last 3 days, but Mikey just silently sat there, jaw muscles tightened.

"I know you are reluctant to do so.. but you may want to consider going to the hospital to-"

"I'm not going" Mikey interrupted with gritted teeth, hissing as the doctor touched a particularly big bruise.

"Mikey, you are still bleeding below, that suggests you may have internal damage. Leaving this too long can be dangerous." The doctor spoke with a calm yet urgent voice. Mikey scowled, turning his head away.

"Not before we find Raph" Mikey protested and Leo squeezed Mikey's hand gently, but before either could say anything else, the door opened again, Don almost running inside with a panicked look on his face.

"We have to go right now, that guy filmed someone dropping off the package, they know who he is and where he lives, the police are going right now" Don said, gaze falling on Mikey, who in turn narrowed his eyes and immediately reached for his shirt with pained movements, putting the piece of fabric on.

"Just carry me" Mikey hurriedly said facing Leo. The latter seemed reluctant for a moment before he reached out for Mikey's wrists, carefully hosting his little brother onto his back. Mikey whimpered as pain raced through his body, burying his face in Leo's face with a low growl.

Leo seemed to hesitate for a minute more before he started walking, following Don and dad outside. Don got into one of the cars without hesitation, in the front seat. Leo stepped inside the car, putting Mikey in the middle and dad on the other side. He immediately put an arm around Mikey's form.

"Luther is going to drive us to the town where they keep Raph" Don says, turning around as Luther already steps on the gas, racing off. "They are in Morristown, and they already contacted the police over there to investigate the houses."

"Who are they investigating my son?" Yoshi asks and Don frowns.

"Baxter Stockman, he was a famous scientist who has gone off the rails a decade ago"

"Is that the same guy you read about so much when you were younger?" Leo whispers and Don nods painfully, turning back to the front again.

"I knew he wasn't a good person anymore after getting arrested a couple of times, but he was still incredibly smart and his theories were interesting" Don tries to explain but Leo simply leaned forwards, touching his little brother's shoulder with a firm yet gentle grip.

"It's okay Don, this isn't on you" He says and Don sighs, leaning backwards.

"I know it isn't" He whispers, rubbing his eyes as faint tears already appeared. "Besides, he wasn't a real criminal really"

"Why?" Leo asks with a frown and I turn my head away, facing the window.

"He mostly turned towards drugs and alcohol. Got arrested for disturbing the public and driving under influence a couple of times" Don shrugged. "But eventually the police took his license away when he hit a car, killing a family almost instantly" I swallow painfully, not daring to look at Don right now.

So I ignored them all as we continued driving, Luther breaking every rule with the speed limit right now to get there faster. Over halfway through the drive, Luther's communication device went off, but he didn't take his eyes off the road when he answered.

"Change your directions, Baxter talked but they don't keep the boy in Morristown" Was the immediate reaction from an officer on the other side of the line. Immediately Luther tensed.

"Where are they keeping him?"

"Union" And for the first time in 4 days or so, after finding Mikey so quickly that is, luck was on their side. But neither could smile at the green board with white letters that displayed the town 'Union', and 3 kilometres, just less than 2 miles. Luther frowned, switching on his lights and alarms before stepping on the gas even more.

Immediately cars parted for them as they raced over the highway.

"Police are there already but no update yet about the boy's condition or anything else" Was heard but Luther didn't respond, exiting the highway with immense speed. "I'm sending the coordinates of the address right now"

Nobody dared to say anything as they raced over the roads, but they didn't need the coordinates after all, as they could already see the blockade the police had made when they arrived. Luther slowed down significantly but they let him pass without any hesitation almost, driving up to the house, as much as the police allowed them to.

But before the car could even stop Leo's eyes widened.

"Oh my god" He whispered, eyes focused on the two men supporting his little brother. He didn't hesitate, opening the door and jumping out despite the car still moving. He stumbled for a second before sprinting over to his younger brother. "Raph!" He screamed, rushing towards his little brother and wrapping his arms around him.

Raph tensed in his hold, flinching away and blinking a couple of times. "L-Leo?" He stammered and Leo nodded in the hug, reluctantly breaking the hug to look.

"It's me, I'm here" Leo whispers, before he frowns slightly. "You're freezing" Leo's eyes widened, staring at Raph's shivering body and blue tinted lips in concern. Raph didn't say anything, tears appearing in his eyes. Immediately Leo took off his jacket, wrapping it around Raph's body.

"My son" Yoshi called out, carefully pulling Raph into a hug as well, wrapping his arms tightly around the shivering form of his second oldest son.

"M-Mikey?" Raph's hiccupped but Yoshi stroke Raph's back, trying to get him a little warmer.

"Safe my son, worried about you" He told him and Raph sobbed again, trying to control his breathing.

"I-I w-want t-t..to g-get out o-of h-here" Raph rasped in a shaky voice, both from the cold and the sobs. Yoshi nodded, releasing his son and looking back as Donnie quickly approached them.

"Thank god you're alive" Don joined the three, wrapping his arms around Raph for a quick second and smiling through the tears. Raph smiled weakly, shivering heavily. "They called an ambulance already, it should be here soon" Don said and true to his word, not soon after the sirens of the ambulance were heard.

They had moved Raph to the van Luther and Mikey were still in, pulling Raph inside and cranking up the heat to the maximum. Raph held onto Mikey the moment he entered, blabbering about being sorry, and it was obvious that the cold was getting to him, and it worried them.

The ambulance stopped right next to their van, and immediately two medicals swarmed the van, opening it and assessing the shivering boy.

"We need to get him to the hospital quick, he's freezing" One of them stated, feeling Raph's forehead and putting a hand in front of his mouth. "His breathing is laboured, ready an oxygen mask" He ordered, turning around to grasp the gurney. They carefully lowered Raph on the gurney, wheeling away without bothering to secure him.

"Dad, go with him, we'll be okay" Mikey whispers, eyes focused on the figure of his older brother being wheeled into the ambulance. Yoshi seemed unsure but nodded, quickly getting out of the van and entering the ambulance.

"There is another ambulance ready, they said there were more injuries" Another medical said and the focus immediately shifted towards Mikey, who frowned. Leo nudged him gently.

"No arguing right now little bro" He smiles lightly, despite the situation. "Don and I will go with you, we won't leave you alone"

That seemed to convince the blond, as he slowly nodded and even accepted their help as they lowered him on the second gurney. Instinctively Mikey reached out for Leo's hand as they placed a blanket on top of him and secured him to the gurney. Leo and Don both walked next to him the whole way, entering the ambulance as well.

"I'm not this injured" Mikey says and Don chokes out a laugh, a small smile appearing on Mikey's face.

"But you love being a drama queen" Don whispers, leaning backwards to let one of the doctors secure the gurney. The doctor smiled gently as well at the joke, before continuing to work on the gurney.

"Do you need any painkillers?" The doctor asks, placing a soft hand on Mikey's shoulder. The latter swallows, looking up to her but before he can deny, Leo cuts in already.

"He does" Leo opts, looking at Mikey with a determined look on his face. He wasn't going to let Mikey be stubborn right now. It was obvious that Mikey was hurting, even if he wasn't showing it. And it was obvious that something was wrong with him, something happened in that brothel. But both him, Don and dad had figured it out before Slash told him.

He had served a customer again.

Mikey sighs bitterly, nodding slightly and looking away as the doctor pushed up one of his sleeves to expose the inside of his elbow. She carefully cleaned it before giving him a slight sedative. Mikey closed his eyes, inhaling and tension seemingly draining from his body as the sedative slowly started working.


	18. Chapter 18

"Still no change?" Mikey asks, his voice barely above a whisper, as I walk in. My gaze immediately goes to my youngest brother. I'm met by a hopeful, yet cautious expression, and I knew exactly what it meant, Mikey was hoping for some good news about Raph, if something had changed.

But it hadn't.

Raph was still unresponsive in another room, dad and Don with him in case he'd wake up. The doctors assured us he would probably wake up, but still, they weren't confident to assure us he'd wake no matter what. He passed out pretty much the moment the doctors wheeled him into the hospital.

But right now it had already been a day since we rescued both Mikey and Raph,

I sigh, slowly shaking my head.

"No change, he hasn't woken up" I mutter, walking over to the chair next to Mikey's bed and sitting down. "They said he'd be okay, stop worrying so much" I continue in a whisper, reaching out and placing a hand on Mikey's shoulder, but just as expected almost, he seemed unresponsive to the touch.

He didn't even flinch, or shy away from it, much less react to it in the first place.

"Zucco?" He asks, voice small and I almost flinch at the question.

"Locked up, just like Kevin." I state, looking at my youngest brother. There were visible bruises all over his body, even more visible with the hospital gown he was currently wearing. The light blue in contrast with the dark patches on his skin, shaped in handprints from the guy who…

I shook my head, I really didn't want to think about it. But yet, the evidence was right in front of me. Not just the bruises, or the gown but also the hospital bed he was currently lying in, or the fact that his eyes were red from all the crying. From both the crying, and the ruptured vessels.

I was about to open my mouth when the door opened, a doctor walking inside. Immediately we both tensed up significantly, I could see the muscles in Mikey's body tighten but I only focused on the woman in front of me.

"Are you Mikey's doctor?" I ask with a slight frown and the doctor, a middle aged woman, smiled kindly.

"I am" She says, but the glance towards Mikey didn't go unnoticed, the concerned and worried gaze, the look of pity Mikey always hated so much. She walked over to the bed, touching the chart that was on the end of Mikey's bed, comparing it with the own board she was carrying.

She looks down again, writing down something on the chart before focusing on the one she had in her hands.

"Your test results came back, should we wait for you father?" She asks, glancing at Mikey and me simultaneously, but I shook my head.

"You can tell us" I say sternly, glancing at Mikey for a moment but he nods as well, obviously wanting to know what was happening to him, and what damage he had done, or rather, what kind of damage was done to him during his capture. What Zucco and that one man had accomplished.

"So I treated you yesterday, you had some tearing in your colon but that will heal if you allow yourself to rest, and continue taking antibiotics" She started, waiting for a few seconds. "You should probably use moist paper towels to avoid irritating it, and use non-scented soap." Mikey nods numbly, glancing at me.

I stand up carefully, closing the small distance between us and sitting on the edge of the bed. His hand immediately snakes over to mine, and I squeeze it softly, smiling at him.

"Fortunately it doesn't seem like the man carried any diseases with him. You're all clear" She announces and I can feel the heavy weight that had been pressing on my shoulders disappear almost. I knew I couldn't be totally relieved, and I really wasn't, but hearing that he wouldn't have any long lasting damage..

I whirl around, looking at Mikey but he didn't share the same reaction. He was frowning and looking down at his sheets. I nudge him slightly, trying to get his attention. He looks up slowly, tears were in his eyes but they weren't falling yet.

"What's wrong? Aren't you happy?" I ask and he takes a shuddering breath, carefully wiping away the tears to avoid irritating his eyes even more and shakes his head.

"No.. no, I am… just-" He stops himself, taking another shuddering breath, the woman seemingly forgotten. "I didn't really expect anything else from Zucco, I would be less worth if I'd carry something" I nod numbly, knowing this already, he told us before when he just came to live with us.

But hearing him say it, so casually and yet with so much trouble, wasn't something any big brother would want to hear.

"Anything else?" I whisper, directing my gaze to the woman, who was still standing there patiently.

"Your eyes will heal in two or three weeks or so, and from what you've told me Mikey, the ruptured vessels can be a result of three things, trauma to your head, strangling or vomiting. But other factors could've contributed as well" She explained and I nod again, looking at Mikey again.

Still, it was painful to hear the story that went along with the injuries. The bruises on his throat, the man strangling him. The bandage around Mikey's head, the blunt force trauma to silence Mikey. Or the vomiting after the man had left, causing his raspy voice.

"The bruises will fade as well, you will be just fine but we do want to keep you here for another night just to monitor your health. You will probably experience pain for a week at least, but that's to be expected. Just try to avoid leaning over too much. Do you have any questions?"

But next to me Mikey shakes his head and the woman smiles gently, but directed her gaze to her communicator the minute it started ringing. She nodded, humming as a small smile appeared on her face before she turned to us again.

"Your brother is awake"

TMNT

"Raph!" Mikey croaked as he was wheeled into the room, not even caring about the significant heat difference in the room, only focused on the figure in the hospital bed. Immediately green eyes lit up, internally as excited as the youngest of the family but too tired to express it.

"Hey little bro" Raph whispers, turning his head slightly, not having the strength to move much just yet. Leo wheeled Mikey's wheelchair over to the side of Raph's bed and Mikey carefully sneaks a hand over to his older brother, squeezing it softly.

The blond frowns slightly, almost surprised at the normal temperature his older brother had, and he slowly drags his eyes upwards again. Raph was lazily watching him, seemingly catching up to Mikey's thoughts.

"I'm okay" He croaks, but concerned eyes went both ways. "How are you?"

Mikey scowls at the question, snapping his mouth shut and this time it was Raph who frowned. It wasn't a surprising reaction. Mikey was defensive because of everything that had happened, and really it was to be excepted. His doctors, from 6 months ago, had warned them about it, his psychiatrist had done so too.

He didn't trust easily, and wasn't comfortable with revealing too much of himself.

"He'll be okay" Leo cuts in, sitting on the side of the bed as Don makes way for him. The second youngest of the family walks over to the second bed in the room, sitting down next to their dad.

Raph seems satisfied with the answer for now, glancing down at Mikey's hand again and squeezing it again.

"How about you?" Leo asks and Raph looks at him.

"Hyperthermia" Raph shrugs with a lazy grin and Leo shakes his head. "They washed my abdominal cavity"

Leo frowns, turning his head around to look at Don instead. "Peritoneal lavage" He says without much hesitation. "They're also giving him warm IV fluids. They doctors will be here soon with food and to hook him up with humidified oxygen"

Raph lifts his left arm slightly, where an IV was imbedded.

"And the other thing?" Leo reminds and immediately Raph's face falls, and similar to Mikey, turns his head away. "Little brother.." Leo continues.

"He's in prison, period" Raph almost snaps but Leo immediately holds up his hands in a sign of defeat.

"Raph.. he's gone but he still hurt you. I can't image-"

"No you don't understand!" Raph suddenly snapped, glaring at his older brother. "You don't understand anything cause you were fucking raised by dad your whole life. You can't understand what that asshole did to me!"

Leo reels back slightly, but not entirely surprised. Raph had often blamed them, had pointed out the fact that the others had a good life, so they couldn't possibly tell him what to do or feel. Over the years, he did it less often but right now.. it wasn't surprising that he would pull out that excuse again.

"You're right" Leo whispers, standing up with his arms crossed over each other, back towards Raph. "I don't understand what you're going through.. " Leo turns around again, staring at his immediate younger brother.

"But I still spent 5 years with you Raph, so I do know something. And I know that something happened that we can't just ignore" Leo insists, his voice rising significantly. The oldest of the four whirls around suddenly as he feels a hand on his wrist, staring in the baby blue eyes of his youngest brother.

He didn't even need to speak right now to tell what he needed to tell. Please stop fighting.

An uncomfortable silence settled in the room and Leo walked away, sitting down on the other side of his dad. Immediately the latter wraps his arm around Leo, bringing him closer.

"It will be alright" He murmurs and Leo nods.

"I'm sorry" Raph spoke up after a long and awkward silence, causing everyone of the family to look at him. He seemed to small in the hospital bed but he was looking directly at the oldest brother of the family. Leo sighs.

"I know you are little bro" He admits and Raph relaxes just the slightest. "We know you better than to take it personal but.. it's hard on all of us. And you know we don't regret any of it, but growing up.. it was difficult, and everything that happened these last few days-" Leo stops himself, wiping away a few tears.

"I'm sorry" Raph utters again but Leo shakes his head, looking up with a sad smile on his face.

"You're such a dork" He snorts. "A big, stupid dork"

Nobody really commented any further after that, but soon after, someone knocked on the door. All five of the Hamato family whipped their heads around as a nurse walked into the small hospital room, glancing at Raph and Mikey.

"I'm really sorry but we should bring Michelangelo back to his own room, he needs treatment as well and visiting hours are far over" He declares. "2 nurses are also on their way to get Raphael his oxygen treatment"

Mikey looks up hesitantly, gazing at his family with longing eyes. All three of the members, except Raph, who Mikey wasn't looking at, immediately understood the hidden message in Mikey's look. He didn't want to be alone right now.

"I'll go with you" Don offers and Mikey scowls slightly, turning his head away but not even a second later his face softens. Don, and the rest, had known Mikey long enough now to know that he was only trying to hide the fact that he was glad Don had offered to come with him.

TMNT

2 days later

"I hope this is not too much of an inconvenience for you" Dad spoke softly, but the door immediately opened all the way.

"Of course not Yoshi, you're always welcome" Miyuki immediately spoke. I flashed a grateful smile at her, walking into my aunt's home with my 3 little brothers close behind me. It had been 3 days since we got Raph and Mikey back. Mikey had been released from the hospital yesterday after another night of observation.

Raph had to stay there for another night.

"I would not go here if I had a choice Miyuki, I am afraid my brother is still out there" Dad spoke with a soft voice, but I caught it nevertheless. Miyuki shook her head slightly, to assure dad it was alright for us to stay here, but she didn't comment on it.

"Are you sure it is Saki?" She whispers and dad takes a shuddering breath as Miyuki walks us to the living room. It was a big house in a beautiful neighbourhood somewhere around Boston. The house wasn't attached to any other house and the living room was spacious and with a lot of windows looking out over the garden.

I help Mikey over to the couch, even though he had tried multiple times to get me to stop being a 'mother hen', as he put it. I mean, sure he could still walk but I could see how stiff his movements were and the occasional hiss of pain he would let out. His wounds were still bothering him.

Raph was now using the wheelchair Mikey had been stuck in a few days ago, still considerably weak from the hypothermia and the toll it had taken on his body. Miyuki sat down on one of the chairs, watching us with slight concern. She had already seen us in the hospital but still.. she was worried about us.

"Hun had told Michelangelo about Saki's plan, to hurt me even more" Dad started and Miyuki nodded, glancing over to Mikey for a quick second.

"Adopting Raph and Mikey when you were in prison" Miyuki adds and dad nods with a sad expression on his face. I glanced sidewards as well, but Mikey had his head turn away from me.

"He is still mad that Shen had married me, but I had thought him to be perished in the fire when we fought" This time it was Miyuki who nodded, urging Yoshi to go on. "I had known he was alive ever since Shen was murdered, I recognised the wounds had been done by his blades but nobody would have believed me"

"Because even authorities had declared him dead." Miyuki adds bitterly, looking at us four again. "So he murdered my little sister out of rage, where Leo and Don were standing, let Raph and Mikey be adopted into sh-.. horrible lives and even that wasn't enough?" She cried out, still looking at us with tears in her eyes.

I sigh, but I don't say anything, not really anything I could add at this moment. We all knew the story by now. Ever since Mikey was discovered 6 months ago Dad had come clean with the story. How mom got murdered by Saki presumably, how he was framed. Mikey and Raph being adopted before dad could prove his innocence.

But also why Don and me had been anxious our whole lives, traumatised the doctors had eventually said after we found Raph. Back then dad had explained it as us being there when mom died unexpectantly, when we found Mikey we heard the true story, she was murdered. Saki's actions had affected all four of us.

I look at my dad, grimacing slightly. All five of us.

"He is mad Miyuki, he came from a violent clan and had descended into madness"

Miyuki looks at dad again, almost shyly. "You really think he will haunt you down?" She coughs a few times, clearing her throat. "You think he will come after all of you?" Dad looks at us with sorrow and guilt, before directing a nod at Miyuki.

"He cannot hide behind his puppets anymore, and now his plan has been butchered, he will not stop until he has taken his revenge"

Everyone had heard the implication behind dad's sentence. Revenge, until he has taken his revenge. Until he had killed all of us, made dad watch as he killed all of us in a twisted form of betrayal he had felt when he realised his adoptive father killed his own father, when Shen choose his brother instead.

When Yoshi was happy, with a happy family, and he was alone and presumed dead.

"That's why we cannot stay in our home Miyuki, he knows of this home, has threatened us there already." She glances at Mikey again, knowing the story of the dead mouse. "I hope he will not look here, he has never known you existed before the fire"

"You can always stay here Yoshi, I just hope the police catches this son of a bitch before he does find the house"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So let's address the elephant in the room first. This can turn into quite a rant, so just skip it if you want. I'm pretty sure everyone saw the new design of the 2k18 turtles. I must say, I'm not surprised at all. It isn't terrible, but it's bad. I will give the show a chance in autumn of course but... I don't have high hopes. My main concern is the design. Just the bright colours scream Teen Titans Go to me, and them being so.. goofy and weirdly designed.. I guess is just a not appealing to me right now. The voice actors.. I dunno. I've grown up with the 2k3 version, and I've actively watched 3 other incarnations since then, 2k7, 2k12 and 2k14 Bay turtles. All the voices instantly clicked. These voices.. to me they just don't fit. Which is a shame because I was really looking forwards to Black April actually. I'm the whitest person you will find prob but I love ethnic diversion in media (That is if they don't change characters to black just for the sake of being black, April was originally black.. let's not speak of writers making Wally black on the Flash xD) While not very keen on the idea necessarily, I'm really interested to see the different species turning out, I don't have a problem with that. Now onto the personality differences… I take the design thing back, this is the biggest concern I have. You just don't change personality… At least that's my personal opinion. I would be stocked if they did something like 'Raph was originally the leader because Leo is too anxious to be/Leo is not fit to be atm and over the course of some episode he slowly develops, or he steps up to save his brothers' something like that. But to me it's like writing fanfiction and making them OOC, not to mention making Raph the oldest and Leo the second youngest. That's it I guess. Like I said, I will give the show a chance of course, and I hope the writing turns out to be really great for example. There are some things that I am actually quite stoked about, Mikey and Leo bonding, Mikey being an artist, April being ethnically diversed, and just keeping the fandom alive and going. And I hope everyone will give it a chance at least, but for now, I'm not convinced at all.
> 
> Now onto more positive things: the Netherlands is third with the Olympic wintergames! (Yay) We're most likely going to drop some places since we're only good at speedskating but still, consider how little our country is, and that we have no natural ice or good winters at all (Except some rare exceptions), I'm pretty proud to be Dutch right now :D
> 
> So yea, hope you guys liked the chapter! ^^ Also, cookies for the 100th review xD


	19. Chapter 19

"Are you okay?" I ask, walking over to the edge of the water and looking down at the mop of blond hair. Mikey frowns slightly, turning away from me.

"I'm fine Leo, stop worrying so much" He says, a bitter undertone in his voice. I sigh, closing the short distance that was still between us and sitting down next to him. He was currently sitting on the grass, near the water in Miyuki's garden. The lake was made artificially and the grass suddenly stopped to make way for the water.

It was like stepping into a swimming pool, and the lake was immediately up to the waist when you stepped in. But for moments like this it was perfect. Despite it being quite early in the year, it was really warm and nice outside. And over the past few days we had come here often to either swim or sit on the edge with our feet in the water.

"I always worry little bro" I say with a slight grin on my face and he sighs as well, the scowl on his face disappearing. It never suit him in the first place. He had always meant to be a happy kid, it was who he was at nature. But his childhood ruined that for him, ruined the chance to be truly happy.

"Where's the rest?" Mikey asks suddenly and I look at him.

"Eiichi is upstairs with Raph. Don and Miyuki are getting groceries and dad is with the police" I tell him and he nods, not really knowing what to say.

"Are you scared Leo?" He asks and I look at him again, a confused expression on my face. "I mean.. are you scared that he will come for us again?" Despite him not saying the name, I knew he was talking about Saki, dad's brother.

"I'm terrified Mikey" I whisper honestly, reaching out for his hand. "Not for myself but for you, for Raph. I'm afraid that he will take you away again, take away Don and dad in the process" I continue, feeling tears burn, begging to be released but I bit them back.

"I'm afraid too, I-..." He stops himself for a moment. "I'm scared to lose you" I glance down at the grass, mindlessly picking it. It still hurt me to hear him say his fears out loud. Even if I was glad he was speaking his mind at all. But Mikey had become family in every sense other than growing up with him.

We were brothers, by blood and bond. And it hurt to know what he had gone through. Both him and Raph, but both were also so incredibly strong. Despite what Zucco forced him to do a week ago in the brothel, despite him forcing to serve another client again, he kept going, he never broke.

He allowed us to help him with tasks he couldn't do when he was injured, allowed us to comfort him when he cried, or when he had nightmares. And in turn he kept smiling, making us laugh despite the whole situation.

"I wouldn't know what I'd do without you Mikey, any of you." I admit but when I looked up at his face I only saw a big grin.

"Don't tell me you're going soft on me fearless" Mikey snickers lightheartedly, and for a second I don't know what to say before the same grin appears on my face.

"Soft?!" I exclaim playfully, reaching out for him but he anticipates it, trying to defend himself. "Do I seem soft to you?" I grin before pushing him forwards. Mikey lets out a little yell before the sound is muffled by him falling into the water. He never shows his head, never rises above the water.

The water was too dirty to look through, especially now someone had jumped in. And for a second I'm worried, until I feel two hands wrap around my ankles. I yell, and before I know it the water completely swallows me up. I shut my eyes instinctively and I come up, spluttering and breathing heavily.

And the only sound that echoes through the air is Mikey's laughter. I snicker, rubbing my eyes and opening them almost hesitantly. Mikey was also drenched, water dripping from his hair and clothes but a big goofy smile was on his face.

"Smart ass" I laugh, slamming my arm across the water to get it in his face.

"Oh it's on" He exclaims, throwing water at me as well.

TMNT

"What happened to you guys?" Raph snorts the moment we walk inside the house, towels tightly wrapped around us to avoid getting too much water inside the house. Mikey looks at me, a grin on his face and I sigh with a smile on my face, shaking my head.

"Water fight" I just tell him, walking past him to head to the shower.

"You kicked his ass right?" Raph snickers behind me and I turn around to see him talking with Mikey instead. The blond nods with a grin, locking eyes with me for a moment.

"Keep telling yourself that" I roll my eyes, walking away and ignoring the snickers and laughter that was coming from behind me. "I take dibs on the shower" I shout back.

"All yours bro!" Mikey yells right back at me, barking out another laugh. I shake my head, walking upstairs to the shower. I don't take long, taking off all the soaked clothes and cleaning up before putting on dry clothes. I don't dare to hog the shower for too long, both for Mikey and for Miyuki's sake.

We were staying at her home after all, and she already had to feed 5 more mouths and get used to 5 people more in the house. So I quickly got out of the shower, allowing Mikey to quickly slip inside as well. I roll my eyes, walking down the stairs and into the kitchen.

"You okay?" I ask as Raph pours hot water into the glass. He looks at me with a confused expression before his eyes travel to the tea that was in between his hands.

"I'm fine" He replies, picking up the glass and turning his back to the counter. "Doctors just advised me to drink something warm during the day and before I go to bed" He explains and I nod. We both walk over to the living area, making ourselves comfortable on the couch.

"No but really, I haven't asked because I know you hate it.. but are you okay?" I ask and as predicted, Raph scowls slightly.

"This ain't just about the cold, is it?" He asks and I shake my head with a slight grin on my face. He sighs. "Well I can't really sleep so no nightmares, but ya knew that" He says and I wince slightly. Of course I did, wouldn't be much of a big brother if I didn't notice. Both because of my duty, and the fact that we slept in the same room.

Miyuki's house may be big but she didn't have an infinite amount of spare room. So the four of us had been sleeping in the guest room, while dad was staying in the study room. It did have its advantages though. Don and I could both monitor Raph and Mikey better while they were sleeping.

Or not sleeping.

"Still not better?" I ask with a grimace and he shrugs, taking a sip of the tea.

"I mean I get a few chunks of sleep, but I can't seem to sleep for hours" He says, sighing and glaring at the tea as if he was angry at the drink for doing everything to him.

"But the cold part…?" I trail off but Raph understood the question nevertheless and he nods.

"I still feel a bit weird, but that's normal apparently. No sign of trouble"

"Who's in trouble?" A new voice suddenly cuts in, revealing Eiichi walking over to us. "It's Raph isn't it?" He grins and Raph scowls, throwing a pillow at him. Eiichi laughs, catching it and laying down on the same couch as I was sitting on, putting the pillow on my leg and making himself comfortable.

"I ain't in no trouble" He says and Eiichi just shrugs.

"Would be a nice change" He snickers before looking up at me. "Why is your hair wet?"

"Mikey and I had a waterfight" I say and Eiichi looks surprised for a moment before a pleased look spreads on his face. Of course he would be, in the past months he had grown fond of Mikey as well, and hearing him playing games was a sign of Mikey getting better, growing past his abuse.

"Mikey won?" He asks and Raph snorts, almost spitting out his tea in the process.

"You put him up to this, didn't you?" I ask, looking at Raph, but my immediate younger brother could only snort louder, shaking his face. "I had hoped you'd have my back, big bro to big bro" I mutter, fake-hurt in my voice as I looked down.

"Hey I'm both the oldest and the youngest remember" Eiichi shrugs. "I'm a neutral party"

"Neutral party my ass" Raph snorts but Eiichi just grins, sitting back up again as I pushed him off. Whereas Eiichi was like my older brother, having grown up with him and Miyuki basically, Raph was more of a best friend to Eiichi. A best family friend somewhat. They weren't as comfortable as brothers.

But Raph seemed to be more comfortable around Eiichi than Casey for example, and even those were inseparable.

"Did dad say when he'd be back?" Mikey announced his presence suddenly, hair still damp just like mine. Again, the roots of his black hair was showing but I didn't pay attention to it. He was wearing a pair of sweatpants despite the weather and a white shirt again.

"Today he said" I answer, looking at Eiichi.

"Have you heard from Miyuki? They've been gone for quite some time" Eiichi frowns, taking out his mobile phone and looking at it. Mikey walked over to the second chair next to Raph, making himself comfortable on it. Before Eiichi could answer however, the sound of the door opening resonated through the room.

"Mom?!" Eiichi called out but his call was answered by Miyuki walking into the living room, carrying two bag of groceries, and followed closely by Don.

"Yea hon?" But Eiichi just shrugs.

"Nothing, didn't know it was you" Miyuki didn't even seem fazed, turning around and taking the groceries to the kitchen next to the living room. For a second I followed her movement but my gaze almost immediately snapped to Don. He seemed tense, but not in an anticipating kind of manner.

His gaze locks with mine, and he seemed to understand my train of thought. I will explain in a moment. He mouthed, glancing at Mikey so I could see it. I frown slightly, so whatever he was worried about concerned Mikey. Or at least, he didn't want Mikey hearing it right now, or not at all.

"So why's your hair all wet?" He asks, glancing between me and Mikey. I groan, immediately grasping the pillow back from Eiichi and throwing it right back at Raph. But a laugh escaped his mouth before I could hit him. "I don't wanna know?" He asks in a sarcastic manner and Eiichi shakes his head.

That seems to be enough for Don, as he shrugs and sits down next to Eiichi. I almost wince at the irony of the seating positions. Me, Don, and Eiichi sitting on one side whereas Mikey and Raph were on the other. Two who didn't belong to us for so many years, didn't grow up the way we did.

We all sat around for a good half hour, chatting sometimes but mostly doing our own thing.

"Oh Mikey, could you help me with something upstairs?" Miyuki suddenly asks, walking over to us and standing behind Mikey's chair. The boy looks up with a slight smile on his face and shrugging.

"Sure" He says, but the glance Miyuki gave Don gave away that her intentions weren't entirely pure. Mikey however, didn't seem to catch the look, following aunt Miyuki out of the room. It was only until the sounds of footsteps on the chair disappeared did Don move.

"Ya've been tense ever since ya came back, spill" Raph interrupted, but his voice soft. Don looks up, glancing around the room for a moment.

"Luther, the guy from the police station, called me on the way back from the groceries" He says. "They finished interrogating Baxter Stockman"

"Did he confess?" Eiichi asks but Don shakes his head.

"I mean he didn't really have to, we all know what he did, and police had the evidence but…-" He stops himself and I don't dare to interrupt him. "They tracked his previous crimes, to see if they were linked to Oroku Saki somehow, or Hamato Saki as he used to be known as…"

Again, he stops himself. He seemed to have trouble telling the story, like something was stuck in his throat. Eiichi sighs softly, putting a hand on Don's back and rubbing it softly. Don flashes him a watery smile, scratching his throat and quickly checking on the stairs.

"I don't know if Mikey's knows but Stockman was connected to us in a crime five and half years ago"

"To us?" I ask with a frown and Don nods, tears jumping in his eyes.

"Baxter was the driver who hit Mikey's car, he killed Mikey's parents" He whispers, but the sentence was too deafening at the same time. "And I don't think it was an accident"

"That's just fucked up" Raph mutters, putting a hand on his mouth as he leans backwards. He seemed to think for a moment, and nobody dared to say anything. "Saki has planned this, all of it. He framed dad for murder, he got us adopted, killed Mikey's parents… why the hell would he kill his parents?!" Raph cries out, immediately slamming his mouth shut.

But no movement was heard from above, and it wasn't like the house was very noisy. So hopefully Mikey hadn't heard it, or would come down to investigate. I don't even know if Mikey knew this somehow, but if he didn't, I didn't want to spill it right now.

"Miyuki thought it might be to traumatise him, you, to ruin dad's life" Don mutters and I frown.

"But why murder his adoptive parents when he is 10? They could've put him in an abusive home like me and then ship him to that hellhole, I mean thank God they didn't but it doesn't make sense" Raph hisses and my breath hitches in my throat. I look up, staring wide eyed at my immediate little brother.

"What happened 5 years ago?" I ask, feeling numbness spread through my body. Raph, Don and Eiichi all seemed surprised by the question but I ignored it, reluctantly looking at Raph.

"Mikey's parents got murdered?" Raph asks skeptically but I shake my head, fingers trembling.

"You were found" I whisper. Colour seemed to vanish from Raph's face and his eyes went wide.

"They killed his parents because I was discovered?" He whispers, cursing loudly. "I fucked up his life by being discovered?!" He curses again but I shake my head wildly.

"That wasn't your fault Raph and you know it"

"So why does it feel like it is?!" Raph retorts with an angry glare, but I know he is only angry at himself. "Why the fuck would Saki even do this? Did he know Kevin was going to fuck up and get me discovered? Was Mikey a back-up plan of his sick plan?! I mean why the fuck did he have a happy life?"

There was a bit of resentment seeping into his voice but I knew Raph didn't mean to. After all, Mikey had anything but a happy life. His first 10 years were happy, but then his life got turned into a literal hell. Raph's beatings didn't compare.

"Because he didn't want to hurt us" Don says, slightly pale as well. "He wanted to hurt dad, by traumatising you, and making sure Mikey had a happy family so he wouldn't want to go back to dad"

"And when Kevin fucked up he gave Mikey the shitty life" Eiichi concludes, looking at Raph. "A life you were supposed to have"

"Fuck!" Raph curses again and I don't even care enough to correct him. What had Mikey done in his past life to deserve such a life? It was nothing short of a miracle that he was found, there had been a huge possibility that Mikey would've never been discovered, there are many out there that aren't.

And we were lucky we found him so quickly the second time, or relatively quickly the first time. Of course 4 years was too much, but others had been there for far longer. But even they were lucky because they weren't the only one of that gender. Mikey was the only boy in there.

I take my gaze off Raph when my phone buzzed inside my pocket. I quickly take it out, unlocking it.

'Sake has fled to Canada. We cannot do much right now as Canadian authorities are obliged to take over. I am coming home right now' It read, written in Japanese.

"Dad's coming home, Saki fled the country" I announce, turning the attention away from the heavy conversation luckily.

"'bout time" Raph says with a frown, leaning back into the chair again. An hour passed quickly, and Mikey eventually joined us again in the living room, Miyuki going outside to give us some time alone. Luckily the mood had lightened up slightly and Mikey had no idea that we just went behind his back.

We would have to talk to dad about it, maybe wait until Saki was caught until we told him. He would take it much better if he knew he was safe. My phone buzzed again and I quickly read the text again.

"Dad's at the door, he forgot his keys" I announce without really thinking about it.

"Mikey" Raph says with a snicker, nudging the blond with his foot.

"Abusing big brothers rights eh?" He says, but Raph just grins, pushing Mikey again.

"Easy easy" Mikey calls out, standing up just before the doorbell ring. "Guess dad can grow impatient as well" He rolls his eyes, disappearing from the room. I roll my eyes as well, putting my phone away. A second ticks by, another second ticks by in complete silence.

Then I suddenly sit straight up, causing everyone to look at me.

My eyes go wide. "Dad's keys are attached to his car keys" I say, and immediately Raph's head snaps to the direction of the door. But the moment he stands up Mikey's lets out a loud scream, followed by a loud noise of something colliding with an object.

"Mikey!" Raph cries out but before he can walk the door is thrown open.

"Let me go!" My eyes go wide in fear at what I see. I recognised him immediately, he looked exactly like dad, except for the scar that ruined his eye. And he was dragging Mikey along with him, slamming him against the wall and looking at us with a menacing grin on his face.

"We meet at last"


	20. Chapter 20

"Let me go!" My eyes go wide in fear at what I see. I recognised him immediately, he looked exactly like dad, except for the scar that ruined his eye. And he was dragging Mikey along with him, slamming him against the wall and looking at us with a menacing grin on his face.

"We meet at last"

"Saki?!" Raph exclaims, eyes wide as he watches our uncle hold Mikey against the wall. Our youngest brother was clawing at Saki's hands as tears streamed down his face, eyes filled with shock.

"What do you want?!" I scream, taking a step forwards. Saki tenses in anticipation, but a smile appeared on his face. He takes a deep breath through his nose, turning his head to Mikey again, staring him right into the eyes. Mikey whimpers, weakly kicking out to him but Saki's grip was unbreakable.

Of course it would be, both him and dad were trained ninjas. And Mikey was terrified.

"Time" Saki said lowly, threatening.

"Time for what?" I scream again, taking another hesitant step forwards. There was still so much distance between me and him, between all of us and Saki. But that didn't mean I couldn't see everything. Mikey's terrified face, the tears tracking down his cheeks and yet his eyes filled with anger.

Saki's tense form, hand around Mikey's throat as he pushed him against the wall. Muscles clenching ever so slightly. His form tenses a bit more, and his head whirls towards us. No, rather past us. Two people running inside the house from the garden.

"Time for him to show up" Saki grins, a menacing look on his face. "Welcome home, brother" He continues.

"Saki!" Dad snaps, eyes wide as he looks at his brother holding his son, a son he just got back no less. "Let him go!" He demanded, fear and helplessness bleeding through his voice. There was blood running down the side of his face, which made it all so clear what had happened.

Saki had attacked dad before coming here.

"Now why would I do that, brother?" Saki backfires, facing his brother without any fear on his face. "Soon you will know what it is like to lose everyone you love, like you took away everything from me all those years ago" He spoke. We all knew what he was referring to at the moment.

Mom choosing dad over Saki, Saki going over to dad's house and challenging him to a fight, a fight that wouldn't end well. The scar on Saki's face was a simple, but painful reminder of that fight. A fight between siblings.

A fight that would claim the baby that was still inside of mom's belly.

Only for Saki to claim more lives as he murdered mom 16 years ago.

"Let him go Saki, I am warning you" Dad threatened, something he rarely did. He rarely raised his voice, rarely displayed anger. But right now, he was fuming. "What do you want?!" He adds, taking a step forwards as well.

"Rage" Saki answered, as if it was the most logical thing in the world.

"Let him go Saki!" Dad demanded again, taking a step forwards. "You cannot hurt him, he is your nephew!" He continued. Saki looked up at that, but the look on his face was indifferent. He truly didn't care what would happen. He was insane, just mentally screwed up in his head. For him to do such things.

He orchestrated our whole lives, invested money and time, and risk, to give us shitty lives. Got Raph and Mikey adopted and took away their chance at normal lives. And right now, now we thought everything was going to be okay with our family for once, he showed up without any clear plan.

What was he thinking? There were 7 of us, and one of him. He had Mikey, but he stood no chance.

And yet, we were at his mercy.

"He is Shen's son Saki, please reconsider" Dad continued. That seemed to get his attention, as he looked back and forth between Mikey, and us.

"She could've been mine!" Saki hisses suddenly, losing his temper. Mikey cries out, feeling the hand around his throat tighten suddenly.

"But she did not love you, brother" Dad countered, voice much softer right now. "What are you going to do Saki? You are outnumbered" It was only then that Saki really seemed to grasp the whole situation, wide eyes and looking at all of us, one by one.

Insanity.

And then it all happened too quick. Dad charged forwards, trying to get to his youngest son. But Saki was quick, quicker than dad. He pulls Mikey off the wall, wrapping an arm around his throat and using him as a human shield. Dad immediately stops, raising his arms.

"Saki, do not do this!" Dad yelled. Mikey twisted, an opportunity as Saki still wasn't rooted to the ground and didn't have a steel grip on Mikey. The move was surprisingly strong, whirling around and pushing at Saki's chest to create distance. Saki blinked, bewildered for a few seconds.

"That is enough!" He growled, reaching for his back pocket.

A gunshot.

Blood rained across Mikey's face, and he spluttered, stumbling backwards. My eyes widened, seeing the bullet hole suddenly appearing and filling with blood on Saki's shoulder. In turn, Saki's eyes widened, suddenly releasing Mikey and hand flying to the bullet hole. Mikey scrambled backwards.

He didn't dare to turn his back to Saki, but Raph shot forwards, grabbing Mikey's arm and pulling him towards his chest, slowly moving away from Saki.

"FBI! Hands in the air" A man yelled, storming towards Saki. Before he could respond to the demand however, the man had already yanked his arms back. Saki growled in pain, trying to twist away as the man handcuffed him.

"You okay?" A woman asks, a gun still in her hand but pointed to the ground instead. I nod absently, looking at Raph. Mikey was crying in Raph's hold, clinging to his older brother. But he was safe. I look around, seeing dad hurry to Raph and Mikey, Eiichi leaning into Miyuki's embrace.

They were all safe.

"Thank you" Dad whispers, and the woman nods, smiling slightly as well.

"That's our job, thank you for calling us." She responds, and dad nods back at her. "Do you need an ambulance, is anyone injured?" She continued, and all eyes fell on Mikey. My youngest brother seemed to sense it, or understand that we'd look at him after such a question.

He slowly lifts his face from Raph's chest, looking at the woman with red eyes, tears still leaking down her face.

But he shook his head. "No hospital" He insisted, but his voice was raw, painful to use obviously. And his throat was already turning red from the abuse. It would no doubt bruise. Just like the first day we met him, when we -I- saw him in that hospital room with bruises all over his throat. His voice painful to use.

But now he trusted us, and he was ours.

I shook my head slightly to clear my head. And only then did I realise how much I was straining my muscles. I was tense, anticipating something to go bad every second. I take a deep breath, willing my muscles to calm down and relax.

"I would like to take a look at it" The woman insisted, and Mikey shrugs.

"Sure" He mutters, allowing Raph to guide him over to the couch. The woman sat down as well, gently lifting Mikey's chin to look at his throat. Miyuki and Eiichi were out of the room, having followed one of the agents, presumably for questioning. And Saki was long gone by now.

The woman gently prodded Mikey's throat, the latter wincing every once in a while but didn't flinch back, or try to avoid the touch.

"It's unlikely that it will bruise, but it should be tender for a few days. It seems like you have laryngeal swelling, though it doesn't seem that bad" The woman speaks up, smiling slightly. "It's possible that you will have trouble talking, or not being able to speak at all but that's not alarming. Try to give your vocal chords enough rest."

"Wha-" Mikey starts, but stops at the strangled voice that came out. The woman smiled at that, and Mikey gestures to his mouth, before swallowing. A grimace spread across his face.

"Does swallowing hurt?" I ask, and he nods, scrunching up his nose a bit before shrugging. "Enough to make it uncomfortable" I state, and this time he only nods.

"That's also normal, your swollen throat makes it harder to swallow saliva, but you'll be fine. It doesn't seem like he had the intention of choking you, otherwise you would've been out within 10 seconds." The woman continues, smiling.

"What happens now?" I ask, watching as Mikey leans into Raph's embrace after the woman stands up as well. The woman turns around, watching me with a content look on her face.

"Baxter Stockman and several others who have worked for Saki are willing to testify to lessen their own sentences, including evidence that Saki killed Shen. He will be getting a life sentence" She said, and I don't know what I should feel. I didn't really feel all that relieved, but at the same time, I did.

He was going away for good, no one to bother us anymore, and both Raph and Mikey were safe. Mikey nudges against Raph's side, mouthing something I couldn't quite see from this angle.

"Zucco?" I hear Raph whisper and Mikey nods, Raph turns to the woman. "What about Zucco?"

"He will face a long time in prison as well, his trial has yet to begin but they're leaning towards a life sentence as well." The woman says, turning to Raph. "Your adoptive father will also face charges, but not as severe as Zucco's. A restraining order will definitely happen when, or if, he gets out"

This time it's Raph who nods numbly, and I reach other to him, squeezing his shoulder.

"The court has yet to decide, but you should be expecting a large compensation from Saki's savings" The woman continues, looking at dad. He nods, but I know he doesn't care about the money that much. He earned a fortune when he got out of prison as well, and spent it all on finding Raph and Mikey.

But we didn't need the money necessarily, but it wasn't something we'd refuse. We'd likely be giving it away for charity.

"You could finally start that dojo you always wanted" I whisper in Japanese and dad smiles slightly at the thought, nodding. He had always wanted to start one, but he never wanted to make it a business. He wanted it to stay a hobby, but that couldn't be done without enough money as he still had to earn it somewhere to take care of us.

"I cannot thank you enough ma'am, you saved my sons' lives" Dad spoke sincerely and the woman laughs.

"Just doing my job" She tells him. "I will ask my assistant to contact you for further information and information on the trials, for now, be with your family"

TMNT

A couple of months later

".. Hey" Leo blinked a couple of times, staring at the girl in front of her. The blonde girl smiled widely.

"Hey" Renet almost chirps, still smiling at the oldest sibling of the family. "I'm Renet, Mikey said he was celebrating his birthday." The girl announces, confusing Leo slightly, It was a birthday mostly with some family and close friends. He didn't know Mikey invited anyone besides Woody.

And Leo hadn't seen this girl before either.

"I didn't know you were coming over, did Mikey invite you?" Leo asks.

"He didn't tell? Is.. Is that okay?" She asks, almost hesitantly. Leo chuckles at the question, allowing the door to open fully as an invitation for Renet.

"Of course it is, I was just surprised" Leo says, allowing her to come into the house before closing the door. "I'm Leo by the way, I don't think I've seen you around before" The girl smiled again, extending her hand.

"I'm Renet, I'm Mikey's-" She started until another figure walked into the hallway.

"Renet!" Mikey cheered, rushing over to the girl and giving her a quick hug. Renet laughs again. "I thought you couldn't make it"

"As if I wouldn't do anything to get here, besides, I always wanted to meet your family" She continued, and Leo tilted his head slightly. There was something the two of them weren't telling him, but for now he didn't comment on it. He really didn't want to ruin the mood in the house, not on this day.

Renet was right to assume Mikey was celebrating his birthday, but he wasn't the only one. They were quadruplets after all.

"Come on in, we just started serving the cake" Mikey invited the girl, a blush spreading across his cheeks. Leo smiles slightly at that, so that's what Mikey wasn't telling, he had a crush on this girl. Leo followed the two to the living room. It wasn't a lot of people, Eiichi and Miyuki of course.

There was still an aunt from dad's side, who lived far away, along with their 2 children, although they were a bit older. They hadn't come with for years, but this year they made an exception to see Mikey's first birthday. Casey, April, Karai, Alistair 'Slash', Lisa, Luther and Woody were also present.

"Michelangelo, who is this?" Dad asked as Renet walked inside, a welcoming tone in his voice.

"I'm Renet, you must be Mikey's dad" She greeted him, waving at the rest as well.

"Renet is.. well-" Mikey starts, but stops himself. He sits down, gently pulling Renet towards him. The girl smiled, sitting down on the rail of the chair. "Renet and I are in a relationship" There was a slight pause, that could almost be explained as awkward until Raph snickered.

"Took ya long enough to come clean. Ya should really know how to be subtle, I'm sure everyone here knew by now" He snorts, rolling his eyes. The looks he was getting however.. "Holy shit, you guys didn't know?"

"Hey, we were subtle!" Mikey cries out, but a satisfying look was in his eyes.

"I didn't notice anything" Don shrugs, and Leo shakes his head as well. Mikey grins at that, but Raph just rolls his eyes.

"They were basically all over each other while 'studying'" Raph snickers, air quoting the last word. Don could feel April tense slightly at the implication but Mikey didn't seem to be negatively affected at all by the comment, or what it implied.

"Well it's still 2-" Mikey stops again, looking at dad, who also shook his head. "3 against 1, you just knew cause I told you about the crush" Mikey continues and Renet smiled.

"I am happy for you my son, you deserve someone who loves you like that. And I can see you love my son Renet" Their dad said, and Mikey beamed at the approval.

TMNT

"Has he told you?" I ask quietly as I walk into the kitchen. She was, along with April, the only guest left at the party, but this was the first time I was truly alone with her. Renet frowns slightly, turning around and leaning against the countertop, gazing at Mikey before turning to me.

"You mean about the last 5 years? In the brothel?" She shudders slightly, and I nod numbly. "Yea, he told me about it like 2 weeks after we got together"

"Which was when?" I could feel a slight tinge of humour creeping through my voice, and Renet smiled slightly as well.

"4 months ago" She tells me. 2 months after Saki was arrested. How Mikey had kept this a secret for so long is beyond me.

"I think it's unnecessary to give you the big brother 'don't hurt my little brother' talk" I snicker and she cocks an eyebrow, still a laugh plastered on her face.

"I would never hurt him Leo, I promise" I laugh slightly, shaking my head.

"I know that, at least I hope so. He's still.. fragile, and especially with relationships and being.. intimate" I say, a slight tinge of embarrassment rushing through me. I barely knew this girl, she was nice, and we could laugh together, but I barely knew her still. And I really didn't want to think too much about certain parts of their relationship.

"We haven't come to that point if that's what you mean"

"But it will someday" I say, and Renet laughs.

"You're doing the big bro talk" She snickers. "But seriously, we talked about. He told me bits, enough for me to understand what happened. And we agreed to take it slow, see how comfortable he is. I promise I won't force him to do anything"

"And you're willing to wait?" I ask softly, glancing back at the living room to watch Mikey for a second. He was laughing silently along with Raph, Don and April. I smile gently, he seemed happy, and it was still the best sight in the world, even after a whole year of living with him, and helping him mentally.

Renet seems to catch on, watching Mikey as well before nodding.

"I am Leo, being with him is enough for me." She tries to assure me, and I nod softly.

"I know I probably shouldn't want to say this, but I know it will come to that point eventually. Talk with him about it if it comes to that, or talk to either of us."

"I will Leo" Renet assures me, glancing back at Mikey and smiling gently. "I will"

TMNT. A week later.

"LEO, let's go-ooooo" Mikey draws out, a huge grin on his face. I chuckle.

"Easy easy, I'm coming" I try to calm him down, but Mikey is having none of that, reaching out for my hand and pulling me along. "Hey, it's not going anywhere you know?" I call out, but Mikey just beams as me, continuing to pull me along.

We had been here once before, but that was before we found Mikey. Still, the sight made me stop for a moment, and I smiled upwards, looking at the overall joy that was radiating through the place.

"Welcome to Disneyland little bro" Raph grins, nudging Mikey. The blond beams brightly, too focused on everything around him. He had kept his hair blond, saying it suited him better. He grew it out once or twice, but he always kept coming back to the lighter colour, and honestly, it did suit him better.

I glance over to my little brothers, chuckling at the awe on both Raph's and Mikey's faces. Don had the same look as well, but I was used to that look. Raph rarely allowed himself to show it, and it was Mikey's first time in Disneyland after all.

Well worth the three hours flight to Florida. I grin, locking eyes with dad for a moment. He had a content look on his face as well.

"Where to first?" Don asks with a smile on his face as well, glancing at Mikey. While it was a family holiday, it was really a trip for Mikey. Dad had somehow arranged with the school that we were allowed to skip school, and we were allowed to spend several days in Disneyworld while it wasn't very busy.

"Can we just walk through the park and see what we see?" Mikey grins, glancing around. But there were very little people walking around. It was a school day after all, but the weather was beautiful. Warm, but not too warm and a sun high in the air.

"Let's go already bonehead" Raph grins, pushing Mikey forwards. Mikey darts forwards, whirling around and pushing out his tongue, and allowing Raph to catch up. We continued to walk for a good few minutes before Mikey turned around again, grinning.

"Do you dare?" He grins mischievously, pointing at the roller coaster behind him 'Rock 'n' Roller Coaster'. Raph rolls his eyes, smirking.

"What do you think?" He asks with a grin, glancing at both me and Don, but both of us nod as well. Mikey lets out a laugh, grabbing Raph's hand.

"Then let's go-ooo already!" He yells, dragging Raph along. Both Don and I chuckle, following Raph and Mikey into the short line that was waiting for the rollercoaster, dad staying behind as he didn't like rollercoasters. And there was only one sound I could concentrate on right now.

Not the people screaming in excitement or delight, not the children giggling, or the rollercoasting making deafening noises. No.

It was the genuine, and uncontrollable laughter that escaped Mikey's throat.


End file.
